Eutelsat launches new Tooway satellite broadband packages

Eutelsat has announced a new, simpler set of packages for its Tooway satellite broadband service, bringing prices down and making it easier for customers to choose the right one for their needs.

The new packages, called Tooway S, M, L and XL, will be available from the 1st of February and provide customers with download speeds of up to 20Mbps – making it the fastest consumer satellite broadband service currently available in Europe.

The entry-level Tooway S package will cost £19.99 a month and provide 2Mbps download speeds, with a 2GB monthly data cap. The £29.99 M package extends this to 20Mbps download speeds and a more realistic 10GB data limit.

The best value deal seems to be the L package, which gives you 20GB of monthly usage during the day, but completely removes the data cap between 11pm and 7am, letting you use the 20Mbps connection to its fullest without worrying about your usage, for £39.99 a month. The £49.99 XL package provides more of the same, but raises the data cap to an even more generous 30GB, and finally the top-end Absolute package will provide completely unlimited usage, at any time of day – just expect to pay £75 a month for the privilege.

Customers will also need a satellite dish and compatible modem to receive the service, which can be rented as part of the package for an additional £6 a month, or bought outright from any of Eurosat’s resale partners. The 77cm dish is only slightly bigger than a standard Sky dish, so won’t take up a huge amount of room on the side of your house. Existing Eutelsat customers are free to upgrade to the new price plans without incurring any penalty fees, so should check with their reseller.

Satellite broadband is something of a niche product in the UK, but with the number of homes unable to access traditional broadband networks estimated at around 3.3 million, we can certainly see its appeal. Roughly 2% of the population can’t get the 2Mbps “minimum” speed outlined by the government, but Eutelsat customers should be able to receive up to 20Mbps speeds wherever they are in the country.

Eutelsat is one of the world’s largest satellite broadband providers, with 30 satellites currently in orbit and several more currently in the works. Its consumer broadband service launched 18 months ago with KA-SAT, a 350 million euro project that’s currently the largest high frequency satellite operating over Europe. With a total data capacity of 90Gbps, it was built to handle the HD video streams from television outside broadcast trucks, but has more than enough bandwidth to cope with the demands of its customers.

Eutelsat’s current coverage of Europe

Jean-François Fenech, General Manager of Eutelsat’s Broadband Business Unit, said “These new Tooway packages are another huge step forward in making universal high speed broadband an immediate reality for Europe.”

“The fastest speeds and most generous data packages at the best competitive rates can be delivered in a matter of days, regardless of location. The outlook for consumers in Europe’s most digitally deprived areas just got much brighter.”