Eutelsat Inks Distribution Agreement With Vivacom For Its Satellite Broadband Service In Bulgaria
29 September 2011
Eutelsat Communications announced a distribution agreement between its Skylogic subsidiary and VIVACOM to provide the new generation Tooway satellite broadband service in Bulgaria. VIVACOM, Bulgaria's leading telecommunications service provider, will use the Tooway™ service, delivered via Eutelsat's KA-SAT satellite, to provide high-speed broadband services to residential and enterprise users beyond range of terrestrial networks.
With download speeds of up to 10 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 4 Mbps, Tooway™ satellite broadband will bring fast and reliable Internet access for VIVACOM customers. Almost one million Bulgarian households, that are mainly located in rural and suburban areas, are still beyond reach of fixed terrestrial or wireless networks, underscoring the potential of satellite broadband in VIVACOM's home market. VIVACOM is launching the service at prices starting from BGN 39 (19.90€) per month.
"The Tooway satellite broadband service is the latest addition to our wide portfolio of communications solutions", said Simeon Donev, Director Products and Services of VIVACOM. "Its launch positions VIVACOM as the first ISP on the Bulgarian market with 100% national coverage, making it possible to extend broadband availability to users in areas with limited telecommunications infrastructure. This is a real breakthrough for the Internet landscape for Bulgaria."
"Tooway is coming into its own as the ideal satellite broadband service to complement terrestrial broadband, and we are delighted that its performance and potential have been recognised by VIVACOM, the leader in Bulgaria for developing modern telecommunications services," added Arduino Patacchini, CEO of Skylogic. "Tooway™ brings high speed Internet access to users beyond the digital divide and it is in this spirit that we look forward to working closely with VIVACOM so that broadband for all can be a reality in Bulgaria."
The Tooway solution consists of a small satellite dish and a modem connected to the PC via Ethernet, giving customers Internet access with no need for a landline. The service is delivered via Eutelsat's innovative KA-SAT satellite, which entered commercial service in May 2011. With its total capacity of more than 70 Gbps, KA-SAT ranks as the world's most powerful spacecraft and, as Europe's first High-Throughput Satellite (HTS), is bringing a new era of competitively-priced, satellite-delivered services for homes and small businesses across Europe and the Mediterranean Basin. The satellite forms the cornerstone of a new infrastructure which includes eight main satellite gateways across Europe connected to the Internet by a fibre backbone ring.
