Advanced Television

Report: nbn to deliver world-leading sat-broadband

April 29, 2016

By Colin Mann

According to telecoms research firm Ovum, Australia’s nbn (National Broadband Network) Sky Muster satellite broadband service will be a world leader in the satellite broadband market.

The soon-to-launch A$1.8 billion ((€1.2bn) Sky Muster service will help bridge the digital divide by enabling fast broadband access for up to 400,000 Australian premises including rural, regional and remote areas.

In its report – Satellite Broadband: A Global Comparison –  Ovum examined 18 retail service providers internationally that offer satellite broadband services and compared their performance to retail plans available to Sky Muster end-users on a combination of peak data allowance, download speed and affordability (price per GB of data).

“Sky Muster’s excellent technical performance combined with strong retail affordability makes nbn’s satellite broadband service a world leader,” Ovum says in the report.

“nbn’s Sky Muster service will be a major step change for internet access for regional and remote Australians over the alternatives that have been available to date.”

With value for money a key factor for Australian end-users, the Ovum report says that the prices charged by Retail Service Providers (RSPs) for nbn’s Sky Muster 25/5Mbps and 12/1Mbps services will offer great options to eligible residents and businesses.

“Retail plans based on nbn’s satellite broadband service are world leading in terms of both performance and affordability,” Ovum says.

“On an affordability basis, retail plans based on nbn’s Sky Muster service are available at close to the best global pricing on a price per GB basis across the benchmarked operators. There are also a range of good entry level plans available.”

“The nbn Sky Muster satellite service will make a truly transformational difference to rural and remote Australians as we offer some of the world’s fastest and largest consumer satellite broadband plans to remote and isolated areas of Australia,” declared John Simon, Chief Customer Officer at nbn.

“Broadband is essential for modern living.  People in remote and isolated parts of the country will be better able to run their businesses, learn, stay in touch with friends and family and access new tele-health services online.  Australia is a uniquely vast country, making online connections increasingly critical.”

Categories: Articles, Broadband, Markets, Research, Satellite