Eutelsat’s Konnect goes live in France
March 18, 2021
By Chris Forrester
Nordnet, a subsidiary of French telco giant Orange, has officially launched its broadband-by-satellite service over France.
The service will trade as Neosat and taps into capacity supplied in bulk by Eutelsat using its Konnect multi-spot beam satellite.
Neosat can supply broadband at up to 100 Mb/s at €39.99 per month’s charge under a short-term promotional deal. The rate rises to €59.90 at the end of the discounted period.
Users have to buy a dedicated satellite dish and its associated receive/transmit device at a cost of €149 during the discounted period and €299 thereafter.
“This technological revolution will help bridge the digital divide in small towns and rural areas,” Nordnet said.
Targeting broadband ‘not-spots’ and where terrestrial connectivity is poor, the Eutelsat/Orange solution fills that gap. “A single satellite is sufficient to ensure complete coverage of mainland France,” added Neosat.
Eutelsat has similar agreements in place with Italy while its ownership of Bigblu Broadband is also seeing new subscribers from Europe.
There’s much more in sight with a planned follow-on satellite, Konnect VHTS (Very High Throughput Satellite) which will launch in 2022 and carry some 500 Gb/s of throughput.