PRESS RELEASE

Release Date: October 12, 2016

Superfast 30Mb satellite broadband now offers 100% coverage across Scotland

Superfast satellite broadband with speeds up to 30Mbps - the fastest-ever service commercially available in the UK - has been launched across the whole of Scotland.

Avonline Broadband, one of the UK's leading telecoms services companies, has teamed up with satellite provider Avanti Communications Group to bring the new service to the country.

Mark Wynn, managing director of Avonline, said: "For the many homes and businesses in the county still waiting for superfast broadband, this new superfast satellite broadband service, delivering up to 30Mb download speeds is available immediately. It provides a superfast service in rural areas where people have literally been waiting years for an upgrade. We can now deliver this service to any part of the country with installation typically just a week or two from order."

Rather than use an underground copper/fibre network like BT, satellite broadband operates by sending and receiving a two-way broadband signal to a satellite about 22,000 miles in space. Because the satellite sits high up in space, it can provide equal quality of coverage to every home or business in the UK.

"For many in rural Scotland superfast satellite broadband will be their only way of getting really fast reliable broadband in the immediate future, Over the past 12 months we have run a very successful pilot scheme in three counties backed by DCMS and I am delighted that we can now offer these brand new services to anyone that needs them." Mark Wynn added.

A range of Avonline superfast satellite broadband packages are available immediately at www.avonlinebroadband.com. And because satellite broadband does not need a phone line, customers could also save around £200 on line rental charges each year if they don't need a fixed line phone.

Currently in England, Wales and Northern Ireland there are government voucher schemes for rural locations, To overcome this in Scotland where there is no voucher scheme at present, Avonline is keen to work with local communities and groups in Scotland to offer multiple systems at significant discounts to overcome this issue.

Families and businesses in rural Scottish communities continue to be frustrated by slow or non-existent broadband services and continued inability to deliver fibre to the most isolated locations. Fast, reliable satellite broadband based on the latest British technology, such as the new service that has been launched, has 100% coverage of the country and is affordable and available to those communities now.

Benefits to families include improved access to online services, greater convenience and enriched education for their children. Benefits for small businesses include improved productivity, better communications and increase profitability. Recent research highlighted that 75% of UK small businesses believe that broadband is vital to their businesses, with individuals indicating that sales grew 40% in a year due to being online.

Mark Wynn added: "Our new service is available everywhere in Scotland, right now including Highlands and Islands. From under-served local towns to neglected rural locations, we can now offer a superfast solution with a choice of affordable broadband packages, so that finally rural consumers should no longer feel second class when it comes to broadband provision."

Full details of Avonline's offers are available at www.avonlinebroadband.com or by calling 0303 303 3131.

Background information:

• The Government has pledged that everyone in the country would have the legal right to a broadband connection of 10Mbps as part of the introduction of a new Universal Service Obligation (USO). However according to the Ofcom ‘Connected Nations 2015' report around 8% of UK homes - some 2.4m - are currently unable to receive speeds of 10Mbps or above. This increases to 48% - or 1.5m - in rural areas, where speeds are often affected by premises lying further from the network's local street cabinet or telephone exchang

e

• Avonline plc is one of the UK's leading telecoms services companies. Established in 1981, Avonline has built fibre networks to over 2 million UK premises and installed digital service into over 4 million UK homes and businesses.

Since 2002, Avonline Broadband has pioneered the delivery of satellite broadband services across the UK and Europe. Working with Europe's leading satellite operators, Avonline offers a range of "next generation" Ka satellite technology and provides satellite broadband services to more UK homes and businesses than any other provider. Avonline Broadband is now part of the Satellite Solutions Worldwide group of companies.

• Avanti Communications Group plc is a leading provider of satellite data communications services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

For further information please contact:

Mark Wynn, Managing Director, Avonline Broadband, tel 07970 008001, mark.wynn@avonline.co.uk

Images available: Ken Harrison, HPR Marketing, tel 07801 649045, ken.harrison@hprmarketing.com

Mark Wynn, managing director, Avonline Broadband

Satellite broadband's unique ‘available anywhere' technology can immediately deliver fast broadband to any home or business, regardless of location, remoteness, or distance from the in-ground telephone network.