[SatNews] Australians in rural and remote areas are a step closer to receiving high-speed broadband with...

...the announcement that Arianespace, the European satellite launch company, has been selected to propel Australia's National Broadband Network satellites into space. The contract, worth up to $300 million, was awarded following a comprehensive two-year procurement process. The satellites will allow access to fast Internet to as many as 200,000 homes, farms and businesses in remote parts of the country at speeds people in the city currently take for granted.

Two purpose-built communications satellites, currently under construction in California by Space Systems/Loral, will lift off aboard two 777 ton Ariane 5 heavy-lift rockets which will deliver the payloads into geostationary orbit to serve Australia. The two launches from Europe's spaceport in French Guiana, situated on the equator on the North Atlantic coast of South America, are scheduled during 2015.

The contract signing follows the recent announcement that NBN Co is planning to boost wholesale Internet speeds available to rural and remote Australia. A higher speed tier is planned to offer wholesale download speeds to broadband providers over satellite and fixed-wireless of up to 25Mbps and upload speeds of up to 5Mbps, five times higher than the upload speeds and four times higher than the download speeds available on today's NBN Interim Satellite Service.

NBN Co is designing the NBN to be capable of delivering these speeds to NBN Co's wholesale customers (Internet service providers). Speeds achieved and applications received by retail customers will depend on a number of factors including the quality of their equipment and in-premises connection, the broadband plans offered by their service provider and how their service provider designs its network to cater for multiple end users

The faster speed tier is planned to be available over the Fixed Wireless network as early as June this year and over the Long Term Satellite service when it launches in 2015. The National Broadband Network aims to provide access to better communications to every Australian via satellite or fixed-wireless or fibre optic cable.