Two-way satellite broadband streaks across Australia - News - Communications

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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Two-way satellite broadband streaks across Australia

By James Pearce, ZDNet Australia
May 26, 2003
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Two-way-satellite-broadband-streaks-across-Australia/0,130061791,120274638,00.htm

Multiemedia has announced two-way satellite broadband will be available at a number of commercial sites across Australia this week, solving the 'last mile' problem some businesses face with broadband.

The satellite technology will allow 60 Mbps download speed and 1.15 Mbps upload speed, according to Multiemedia. The service is being offered by a syndicate of companies including New Skies Satellites, Viasat (who will provide the hardware), IP Access International (backbone and consulting) and Kavera Software (billing and subscriber management).

The US$650 million NSS-6 satellite used to provide the service "covers more than 60 percent of the world's population," Adrian Ballintine, the group managing director and CEO of Multiemedia told ZDNet Australia .

Multiemedia plans to offer its services through franchises, and plans to target small to medium enterprises and large corporations, which spend more than AU$1,000 a month on communications. The most likely customers will be those currently having problems with 'last mile' solutions -- those which don't have access to cable or DSL. The Viasat terminal (a PC sized machine kept inside) and the antennae (a satellite dish housed on the roof) cost around AU$5,500.

Ballintine said the service would be useful for companies who wanted high data speeds, but not continuously. "They can use services they wouldn't get without renting a big, fat pipe," he said. "It's for companies who want to use really heavy duty applications from time to time. They'll only pay for what they use."

He gave the example of a company with dispersed sites who wished to have a videoconference for an hour once a week.

The initial sites that will receive commercial access include Austrade, ISPs Norfolk Island Internet Services and Internet Whitsundays, and the Seventh Day Adventist Church, which is planning a virtual private network for its 155 Australian and Pacific Island schools.