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Irish satellite Net company blasts-off 
Thursday, May 16 2002
by Andrew McLindon


High-speed Internet access by satellite is becoming increasingly popular in
Ireland, with over 50 users signing up to one of the first such services
available.

According to Educom Micro Systems, it has more than 50 customers for its
satellite service, Orbitlink, which was launched in January of this year.
Orbitlink's project manager, Brian Lowe, told ElectricNews.Net that the company
expected to add between 1,000 and 2,000 customers over the next 12 months.



 

Lowe said the service was aimed at businesses and consumers who were tired
waiting for other broadband Internet access technologies such as ADSL, which has
been recently launched by Eircom, or were in remote areas of the country where
such technology would not be readily available. 

 



"We found that a lot of people in Dublin were sick of waiting for ADSL to come
along and that there are many parts of Ireland where even telephone services
aren't easy to come by. For instance, we will be shortly installing three
satellite links in the Black Valley in Kerry," commented Lowe. "This service
is for people who want ADSL, but can't get it."

 



Educom's satellite service provides access and download speeds of between 400kb/s
and 1Mb/s, which is comparable to those available over ADSL. Orbitlink's pricing
begins at EUR169 per month and installation is free.

 



Lowe admitted that satellite access is not without its downsides, primarily in
that it isn't as quick as ADSL when it comes to Web browsing and can be more
expensive. However, he added, that it does at the very least match ADSL in terms
of downloading speeds.

 

The company has partnered with Hughes Network Systems, which is a leading
international satellite service provider that is ultimately owned by General
Motors, to provide the service. 

 



The last year has seen a growing interest in satellite Internet services as Net
users clamoured for broadband-type Internet access, but found their options
limited. According to research group, Datamonitor, the number of satellite
terminals in the world's three major economic regions should increase from an
installed based of 293,500 terminals in 2000 to 7.2 million terminals by 2005.
Europe will have around 30 percent of these terminals, with North America and
Asia-Pacific accounting for 54 and 15 percent respectively. 



 

Founded in 1995 by a group of UCD graduates, Educom primarily provides network
and Internet access solutions to SMEs and the education sector. In mid-2001 it
decided to branch into offering satellite-based high-speed broadband Internet
access due what it perceived as the poor state of the Irish ISP market and the
continued "broken promises" regarding the availability of technologies such as
ADSL and cable modems.

 

 

 



 

 has sent the following story to you from ElectricNews.net.

The story is available from https://electricnews.net/news.html?code=7521650

Irish satellite Net company blasts-off 
Thursday, May 16 2002
by Andrew McLindon


High-speed Internet access by satellite is becoming increasingly popular in
Ireland, with over 50 users signing up to one of the first such services
available.

According to Educom Micro Systems, it has more than 50 customers for its
satellite service, Orbitlink, which was launched in January of this year.
Orbitlink's project manager, Brian Lowe, told ElectricNews.Net that the company
expected to add between 1,000 and 2,000 customers over the next 12 months.



 

Lowe said the service was aimed at businesses and consumers who were tired
waiting for other broadband Internet access technologies such as ADSL, which has
been recently launched by Eircom, or were in remote areas of the country where
such technology would not be readily available. 

 



"We found that a lot of people in Dublin were sick of waiting for ADSL to come
along and that there are many parts of Ireland where even telephone services
aren't easy to come by. For instance, we will be shortly installing three
satellite links in the Black Valley in Kerry," commented Lowe. "This service
is for people who want ADSL, but can't get it."

 



Educom's satellite service provides access and download speeds of between 400kb/s
and 1Mb/s, which is comparable to those available over ADSL. Orbitlink's pricing
begins at EUR169 per month and installation is free.

 



Lowe admitted that satellite access is not without its downsides, primarily in
that it isn't as quick as ADSL when it comes to Web browsing and can be more
expensive. However, he added, that it does at the very least match ADSL in terms
of downloading speeds.

 

The company has partnered with Hughes Network Systems, which is a leading
international satellite service provider that is ultimately owned by General
Motors, to provide the service. 

 



The last year has seen a growing interest in satellite Internet services as Net
users clamoured for broadband-type Internet access, but found their options
limited. According to research group, Datamonitor, the number of satellite
terminals in the world's three major economic regions should increase from an
installed based of 293,500 terminals in 2000 to 7.2 million terminals by 2005.
Europe will have around 30 percent of these terminals, with North America and
Asia-Pacific accounting for 54 and 15 percent respectively. 



 

Founded in 1995 by a group of UCD graduates, Educom primarily provides network
and Internet access solutions to SMEs and the education sector. In mid-2001 it
decided to branch into offering satellite-based high-speed broadband Internet
access due what it perceived as the poor state of the Irish ISP market and the
continued "broken promises" regarding the availability of technologies such as
ADSL and cable modems.