The product will provide a two-way connection to the Internet at speeds of up to 500 Kilobits per second. It is aimed at small businesses and advanced home users who need a broadband connection but can't get ADSL or cable.
It will be considerably more expensive than other broadband options, though. The equipment will cost at least £699, on top of which the installation will cost £250.
Once up and running, the single-user option costs £46.99 per month, and the multi-user option -- with support for a local area network -- costs £85.99 per user per month. As these are the wholesale prices that BT will charge ISPs that resell the service, actual customers will probably pay even more.
This is likely to limit take-up of the service, according to some ISPs.
"The cost to the end user is highly prohibitive, and customers who can afford to pay are most likely to be businesses with existing fixed connections such as leased lines," said Alistair Wyse, service and operations director at PlusNet.
One well-known issue with satellite broadband is latency. Packets of data have to travel from the end-user up to the satellite and then down again to the Internet, and this journey involves a slight delay, typically 750ms or more. Although not a serious problem when surfing the Web or using email, it can interfere with VPN software and hamper online gaming.
This will deter some ISPs from attempting to sell BT's service, which uses capacity on Intelsat's IS-907 satellite.
"It's not for us. You can't bend the laws of physics, so you've always got the problem of latency," explained one leading UK ISP.
BT has said that its retail arm will be the first ISP to sell the service. It's actually been selling a satellite broadband service since 2002 but a BT spokesman says that this new option is an improvement on what's been available from BT Retail before.
Currently about 10 percent of the population can't get broadband from BT, NTL or Telewest. On top of this, some 2 or 3 percent of people who are in an ADSL-enabled area can't get the service because they live too far away from their local exchange or their phone line is of too poor quality.
BT is currently testing a way of extending the reach of ADSL from 6km to 10km, in a trial at Milton Keynes, and Wyse believes this is a better way of addressing the broadband divide than through satellite.
"Although this satellite product fills in the gaps, the real win for broadband is extending the reach; for example, the Milton Keynes trial, in which PlusNet [is] participating, and extending the distance at which 2Mb connections can be serviced," Wyse said.
Talkback
"BT is currently testing a way of extending the reach of ADSL from 6km........."
I live 3km from my ADSL enabled exchange, but BT can't come up wit the goods. Am I alone? I find the 10% unavailability figure just a trifle theoretical.
I live within 5 km of two exchanges that both are ADSL enabled, but evidently we are at the "end of the copper loop" and therefore can't receive the service...!!!!
BT should spend more time investing in expanding the current service rather than piddling about with prohibitive Satellite offerings..
Get your act together BT, either expand and improve the service or the job to a company who can.!!!!
What i want to know is why is it 'BT' that recieves all the 'partnerships' and dubious state funding.
BT is no a state run company, its private which people seem to forget.
So how about RDA's , Councils and government using their positions/funding to develop competition for BT instead of making it an ever larger monopoly who can charge what it wants?.
A years work by a small wireless company to provide broadband in an area was basically wiped out recently by "partnership" funding from an RDA to BT approaching £1M of tax payers money so they could "enable 3 exchanges". One of which apart from being the home of one of the officials involved, was also the one destined for an alternate wireless solution.
How can small companies compete with BT if they are public funded when we get told "sorry that would be state aid".
Perhaps Ofcom should address these issues as well.
I live near an enabled Broadband exchange. Every on-line broadband checker tells me I should be able to receive Broadband (even BTs). BT however tell me that I'm on 'fibre' and consequently current ADSL technology is not supported.
They then told me that they were going to give me an copper overlay, only to be told at the last minute (after I'd received confirmation and a modem) by the engineer that there wasn't enough connections at the exchange to install another twisted copper pair.
I then read an article that BT are aiming for 99.6% ADSL coverage by summer 2005. I can't see BT upgrading the exchange to cater for myself and some 100 other homes in the area. So consequently, I see myself as one of the .4% this time next year but I certainly won't be buying a satellite solution from BT at the price quoted.
I have the satellite connection in Belfast as i am just outside the 6km range of my exchange.The satellite has been installed since September 2002 and was upgraded recently 09/07/04 to the new platform supplied by intelsat.The service in my opinion is far too expensive as i pay 59.99 + vat per month for an average download speed of 25 KB/s.Why the service is call the 500 i am told is there may be burst speeds up to that,but big deal it is only for a split second.Also the speed does not increase later in the evening with less traffic,but again BT have told me the platform must have been busy.
The previous platform that was running was a lot faster,but was very restrictive in the amount of data that could be downloaded as BT introduced a Fair Share Policy which restricted your speed until your usage was below a certain limit(4GB pm cap but BT would not confirm this)
Overall yes i have an always on connection,but speed is very poor and at these prices,but just too expensive for the home user.It is a very business orientated market.
I wait for the extended ADSL reach to become available to all hopefully very soon once the trials are complete as this satellite conection will be in the bin.
I operate a small but expanding Health,Safety and Environmental Consultancy in Shropshire. Live within 2 miles of an "enabled exchange" . BT suggest I can obtain broadband but I cannot. Even keeing in my number tells me I can- but key in the post code and I cannot. The loop is 9 KM long and i am on the end. My neighbour 300 mtrs away can get broadband -but he is on another "route" My supply line runs- wait for it- in the hedgerow for almost a mile because BT will not re-instate it in the grounf (too costlly) Have been on "temporaryy" suupply for almost 3 years. 50 + complaints in one year!!! Still the same. A simple solution -- provide 4 new poles and connect me to the supply of my neighbour. No way !!!! Too expensive. This is privatisation for you and a consequence of a monopoly. A big no no to BT.
Having had BT Broadband for 10 months, they tell me that I can no longer have it due to the telephone line being longer. I suppose someone moved my house or the exchange whilst I was out at work.
BT have no interest in restoring my Broadband, although on eof their own engineers lives 75 metres away gets Broadband since I lost mine.
Dont quite know what to do?
Having just moved house I now find I am beyond the reach of BT for a Broadband service.This coincides with the launch by BT of a satellite broadband service that is too expensive for single users.
Why doesn't BT put its resources into extending it's reach instead?
Too expensive and BT holding some communities to ransom. We are 2 mile from exchange but have been fitted with microwave link which BT updated 5 years ago but not for adsl. Despite getting just under £30 million from Scottish Exec & ERDF. We are not even allowed to speak to a BT manager despite numerous requests.
Signed up for BT broadband last October, (via BT Telephone Sales), got the modem etc, but got no broadband service. Following checks by BT engineer I was advised that broadband was only available 8Km from exchange and I was 10Km from exchange. Wrote to BT cancelling the broadband agreement due to non availability and as a result of the cancellation BT nicely collected the full years subcription for the cancelled broadband service from my phone bill credit. I did contact BT about this and they advised that the refund would be shown on Feb 06's telephone bill. So, while I'm not hopefull for a sloution to broadband in rural areas, I at least might get my money back.
I live in a hamlet of four house all of which used to be a farm, so very close. one house can get broadband one house cannot, two of us can get it intermittantly, I would love someone to explain this as at present am only on internet access as I refuse to pay for a product which only works sometimes. even the internet cuts off in bad weather.