“Satellite technology is unique in that it can provide immediate connectivity to the Internet backbone, especially to those areas in Europe lacking commercial interest for terrestrial operators.” said Aarti Holla, Secretary General of ESOA. “Satellite infrastructure is already in place and more capacity will be launched this year but we still need public support, both at EU and Member State level, to overcome the obstacles preventing isolated citizens from becoming part of the 21st century information society.”
The latest figures published by the European Commission on broadband coverage show that the EU is still far from reaching the 100 percent connection goal. Although progress has been made, DSL for example — the dominant means of enabling high-speed connectivity in Europe — has yet to close a pronounced gap between urban and rural areas. Close to 10 million households in Europe are not covered by any kind of terrestrial broadband solutions. As Aarti Holla explained, “today, the political focus is on high-speed Internet, which suggests that most networks need upgrading to provide speeds that are today not generally available. This technocratic approach inevitably pushes one technology that is identified as the only one capable of doing the job: fibre. This means that those who still have no connectivity at all risk remaining without it for even longer as rolling-out fibre to everyone is likely to take 20-30 years and require over €100 billion of public funding. Only a mixture of technologies will achieve 100 percent coverage in any acceptable timeframe and at a reasonable cost.”
According to ESOA’s estimates, satellites are in a position to connect over a million extra business and households in rural areas by the end of this year making a significant contribution to bridging the existing digital divide. “We look forward to making the case for the satellite solution to Commissioner Kroes in the coming weeks,” said ESOA’s Secretary General.