PRESS RELEASE

KH/AVO/P/038

Release date: November 27, 2012

NEW SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY ADDS TO FASTER BROADBAND OFFERINGS ACROSS THE HIGHLANDS

Dave Thompson, the MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, has welcomed the arrival of new satellite broadband technology as a means of broadening access to broadband in remote and rural areas.

He spoke after visiting a demonstration by Avonline Broadband of satellite broadband which uses a new generation of high throughput satellite. The company - the UK's largest provider of consumer and SME satellite broadband - arranged for a mobile demonstrator van to travel to Broadford Service Point on the Isle of Skye.

Dave Thompson said: "I was very impressed with the speed on offer. This new standard of satellite broadband addresses many of the problems experienced with the medium in the past, and will broaden access to broadband particularly in remote and rural areas.

"This comes as Highlands and Islands Enterprise is making a significant investment in terrestrial services, and I will continue to press for these services to be distributed as widely as possible. There are also pioneering community developments such as the one servicing Knoydart and Small Isles which provides access to broadband, and I am pleased to welcome an improved satellite service which will increase the options for my constituents."

The new service, unlike previous satellite services, offers a fast connection of 8Mbps, 12Mpbs or 18Mpbs. The service runs using Ka band satellite technology, a new generation launched in 2011, which overcomes many of the traditional challenges faced by previous satellite broadband services, by improving reliability, speed and the quality of the connection.

All that is required to secure a connection to the service is a south facing sight of the sky above 26 degrees and a small (74cm) dish. No telephone line is required, meaning there is no line rental charge to add to the cost.

Calina MacDonald, a resident at Castleshield, Fiscavaig and member of the Community Trust, was one of many who attended the demonstrations and was very impressed:

"I can categorically say that today I had fast, unhindered broadband for the first time in two years. I have had broadband access since it became available on Skye, but the connection is slow and unreliable, often only accessible very early in the morning, between 12-2am.

"I was hugely impressed with the demonstration and glad it is available to many remote communities such as my own, where other options are severely limited."

Dave Thompson added: "Many remote communities in my constituency have poor or even no access to broadband. The challenges of a suitable infrastructure for broadband and the effect that the geography can have on reception has complicated traditional services in many remote areas, and so I welcome the new generation of satellite technology which can offer a broadband service comparable to those available via ASDL elsewhere in Scotland.

"Broadband has become essential to modern business, and areas with a poor connection are at a significant competitive disadvantage.

"The Highlands and Islands face greater challenges in delivering the same quality of broadband connection as urban areas. This improved satellite service is one of the solutions that can help close the gap between rural and urban service. In addition to community projects and terrestrial ASDL I hope that soon all of my constituents have access to a reliable and fast broadband connection."

Mark Wynn, managing director of Avonline Broadband, said; "Satellite broadband can now bring superfast internet connection to anyone immediately, without the need to wait for years for the copper network to be upgraded to fibre, at a price that compares very favourably with traditional internet providers.

"Satellite internet access guarantees the same high level of performance in every location regardless of landscape - on the top of a mountain, in the middle of the countryside, in a small isolated village or a city street. " 

ENDS

More information on Avonline and the package options is available atwww.avonlinebroadband.co.uk

Satellite broadband - background information

• Ka band uses powerful spot-beam technology to deliver fast, reliable broadband across the whole of Europe.

• Spot-beam technology is responsible for revolutionising satellite broadband. It delivers the power to every part of the footprint that enables high-speed services to be delivered at high quality and excellent reliability. This technology overcomes many of the historic weaknesses with older satellite broadband technologies.

• Avonline plc, through its Avonline Broadband Services division has offered satellite broadband in the UK for over a decade. The company is the UK's largest provider of the popular Tooway^TMservice for consumers and businesses delivering more than 50% of all UK customers.

• Avonline offer four consumer packages offering speeds of 8Mbps, 12Mbps and 18Mbps. The most popular is the Tooway 18 service which comes with 18Mbps download and 6Mbps upload speeds. Free hardware is included within the monthly service price of £44.95. Other services start at just £16.95 per month and the company also offers free hardware on all 18Mbps packages.

• Monthly data allowances are an important part of selecting the right package. On Avonline's most popular service, Tooway 18, there is a 26Gb allowance per month - enough to download an HD film every day of the working week. There are also lower data packages for low users.

• For the CPE (customer premise equipment) all that is needed is a small 74cm dish mounted on the side of the building and a modem - making it easy to obtain the new service with the option to complete DIY installations if required.

• Unlike fixed line broadband services, satellite does not suffer contention in the same manner as ADSL so a 18 Mbps service from a satellite delivers a true 18 Mbps.

• Users do not need a telephone line to get satellite broadband and in fact using VoIP (free or paid for services available) anyone can save hundreds of pounds on annual line rental charges.,

• Using Avonline Broadband can also mean free or low cost calls and even keeping their old telephone number all using satellite. Subscription free HD TV can also be accessed through the same dish.

• Because the satellite is situated in geostationary orbit over Europe, as long as you can see the sky, satellite broadband guarantees the same high level of performance in every location regardless of landscape - all that is needed is a satellite dish and a modem.

• Latency is one aspect where satellite broadband differs from fixed line connections because it takes about 750ms (3/4 second) to send a signal. For many modern day tasks - emails, tweets, streaming media like iPlayer or music/video downloads this presents no issues and with download speeds of up to 18Mbps provides a dramatic improvement for the majority of customers. The main domestic restriction is online gaming which satellite is not suited to.

• It is not just rural communities that suffer from poor broadband - the problem can hit 'end-of-line' streets in towns and cities too. With an 18Mbps service with free hardware included, many customers are switching from unreliable and slow ADSL services and converting to Satellite broadband.

• Satellite broadband is completely different from satellite TV, using its own satellites and different technology.  For instance, Sky TV satellite dishes are one-way only, beaming programmes into the house.  Sky uses the BT in-the-ground cable network to achieve its two-way broadband service. So a Sky broadband service has the same speed and reliability as its BT equivalent.