BB SAT Co., Ltd. (Japan) today announced the commencement of its satellite broadband service in Japan. The service, aimed primarily at consumers and SME/SOHO customers, will provide service to Japan's Digital Divide areas and to ADSL users who, because of distance from ADSL provisioning facilities, receive poor quality service.

The BB SAT service will provide 2.5 Mbps in the forward direction and 512 kbps in the return direction. These are the highest speed consumer-priced broadband services presently offered by satellite. Customers will pay 5,000 yen ($51) monthly for the service plus a terminal rental fee.

"We are sure this service can meet the demanding needs of today's information-oriented Japanese society. BB SAT is a key part of the plan to make universal broadband a reality in Japan," said James Beitchman, president of BB SAT.

The service is operated with the ViaSat SurfBeam(TM) system now in use by hundreds of thousands customers in the US and elsewhere, and uses the Ka-band satellite capacity of the Sky Perfect, JSAT Superbird B2 satellite. Initially limited service will be provided with nationwide roll-out beginning this summer.