Avanti, Q Sat dispute leaves 3,000 without service
May 22, 2017
By Chris Forrester
Q-Sat, a rural satellite-delivered broadband supplier in Ireland, is in a “six-figure” dispute with London-based satellite operator Avanti Communications. The Financial Times is reporting that bills have allegedly not been paid.
Q-Sat is run by former Irish and Arsenal football international Niall Quinn, who told Irish broadcaster RTE that he had been in dispute with Avanti for some two years over what he described as an “unworkable contract” which was valued at £13.6 million (€15.7m).
Avanti supplies Q-Sat with capacity. Q-Sat is owned 50 per cent by Quinn, and another 50 per cent through a British Virgin Islands-registered company Maxillian.
The dispute meant that Avanti curtailed service to Q-Sat’s clients last Tuesday, said to number some 3,000 and mostly based in rural Ireland. Quinn said Q-Sat was in the process of advising clients to shift to another supplier.
Avanti reportedly said it is “sad to see a partner exit the market, but our first priority is to the end user to make sure they continue to access the internet without interruption. It said they could do this by “switching to Bentley Walker,” according to a report in The Irish Times.