The data transfer rates in the Web hosting have increased significantly in recent years. In many regions of Germany, however, services such as Netflix and Co. still cannot be used due to the lack of sufficiently high bandwidths. The new offer can provide a remedy Eutelsat KONNECT which enables 100 MBit/s download via satellite throughout Germany. The upload of the monthly 69.99 Euro expensive tariff is 5 MBit/s.
Internet access will be implemented via an HTS satellite, which will be operational at the orbital position 7° East from Monday. The satellite was launched by an Ariane rocket on January 16. However, the commissioning of the ground stations was significantly delayed by the Covid 19 pandemic. Meanwhile, according to the world's third-largest satellite operator, "all necessary tests have been successfully completed."
Total capacity of 75 GBit/s
The total capacity of the satellite is 75 GBit/s. Eighty percent of this capacity should be usable by the end of 2020, with the remaining 20 percent being made available by the end of March 2021.
For the time being, the tariff can be booked in European areas with high demand. According to Eutelsat, these areas include Germany, Italy, Great Britain and Francewhich also do not yet have a fully developed broadband network in rural areas. In addition, a third-party provider has leased some of the capacity to use for Internet access in Africa.
In France, the satellite's capacity will be marketed by the local provider Orange, while in the United Kingdom, Eutelsat will be able to offer its own tariffs through its acquisition of Bigblu Broadband. The next satellite, KONNECT VHTS, is scheduled to go into operation as early as 2022 to 2023 in order to increase capacity.
State support for satellite Internet
Studies show that about 500,000 households in Germany will not be connected to the broadband network in the foreseeable future. Representatives of associations and politicians are therefore demanding that services such as Eutelsat KONNECT should also benefit from the planned state subsidies. A proposal to this effect is to be submitted by the Association of Telecommunications and Value-Added Service Providers (VATM) and the SPD Economic Forum at the Federal Government's Digital Summit at the end of November.
In concrete terms, affected households are to receive a subsidy of 500 to 1,000 euros. The total cost of the dish required for satellite Internet access is around 1,500 euros. In contrast, a single fibre optic connection can be quickly installed in a rural area. Costs of 20,000 euros or more.
