Satellite Broadband To Piggyback HD Signals

Britain looks set to take a another step towards high definition, broadband utopia, with the announcement by Avanti Screenmedia that its new satellite will provide hundreds of TV channels in eye-popping clarity, as well as high speed internet to remote areas out of reach for current internet providers.

The company has begun development of the Hylas spacecraft, designed to launch in 2008 and bridge the digital divide once and for all.

Costing £75 million, the satellite will be built by EADS-Astrium, and will be partially funded by the European Space Agency.

Avanti’s intention is to provide broadband connections to a centralised terminal in remote locations, from which connections are provided by WI-FI technology to individual homes.

“We have a problem in Europe in that broadband is still not a universal service,” explained Giuseppe Viriglio, director of EU and industry programmes at ESA.

“To do this we need to provide an infrastructure – even to the remotest areas – where fibres do not go; and satellite can do that. Satellite does not substitute ground infrastructure but it does have a role.”

Avanti Screenmedia: www.avanti-screenmedia.com