Astra Connect in 9,000 French schools
June 11, 2014
By Chris Forrester
SES Broadband Services (SBBS) and its subsidiary Astra Connect has won a major French contract to hook up almost 9000 to a broadband service via the French ‘Connected Schools’ project.
The scheme calls for broadband delivery, by Ka-band satellite, to those schools around the country which do not have adequate access to fibre or broadband services.
Working with SBBS’ distribution partners, Connexion Verte, Wibox and Auvea, the technology was selected after meeting the eligibility criteria provided by the state and are based on the Astra Connect broadband via satellite service, in this case specifically tailored for schools.
The tailored Ka-band-based solution allows for download speeds of up to 25 Mbit/s and daily volume allowances. The volume includes 1 GB, 2 GB or 4 GB per day on school days from 7.00am to 6.00pm. During these hours and for the selected volume, the solution offers high priority access to the Astra Connect network. Outside of these times, or after exceeding the daily data, the service delivers unlimited access with download speeds of up to 16 Mbps in a best effort mode.
“We welcome the French Government’s decision to select our service as part of this very important national initiative. The deployment of ADSL and fiber networks has still not reached many schools in various regions and our solution will deliver to them immediate access comparable to urban broadband Internet networks. This project will further strengthen our position both in the French connectivity market and the education sector,” said Patrick Biewer, MD of SES Broadband Services.