Eutelsat Tooway service reportedly has been selected by French telecommunications operator SFR for its new satellite broadband service for French homes. Additionally, a new service called the ‘Satellite Internet Pack’ was launched today using capacity on Eutelsat’s (News - Alert) HOT BIRD 6 satellite.

 

The Tooway service in France offers a consumers speeds and prices meeting the “Digital France 2012” Plan.

 

SFR (News - Alert) officials said that it selected Tooway to meet demand for broadband from its customers beyond ADSL coverage.

 

The service will be extended on Eutelsat’s new-generation KA-SAT satellite, which has a launch scheduled for the end of 2010. With more than 80 beams operating in the Ka-band, KA-SAT will help up to two million homes across Europe to benefit from broadband access.

 

The service reportedly offers download speeds of up to 3.6 Mbps and between 2.4 and 4.7 GB of data downloads per month depending on subscription.

An “Endless Night” option lets to surf the Internet on an unlimited basis between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. with no data exchange deducted from the monthly total volume. Other services include six mailbox addresses, antivirus software and anti-spam protection.

 

“The selection of our new Tooway broadband service by SFR, a hallmark in telecommunications for quality service and reliability, underscores the intrinsic ability of satellite technologies to complement terrestrial networks,” said Michel de Rosen, CEO, Eutelsat, in a statement.

 

Rosen said this major contract also clearly demonstrates the ability of Tooway to deliver a comparable service to terrestrial broadband networks, with ease of use and high levels of scalability that can accompany growth.

 

He said that it consolidates the company’s objective for large-scale development of satellite broadband in the Ka-band using dedicated in-orbit and ground infrastructure offering both compelling prices and speeds to consumers.

 

“Combined with the advanced performance of the SurfBeam technology developed by ViaSat, the multi-spot KA-SAT satellite that is currently in construction by EADS (News - Alert) Astrium will have the capacity to deliver high-speed performance to up to two million subscribers,” Rosen said.