In conjunction with Sedea and Europasat, we are now able to offer the Astra Connect satellite broadband system.
For those who cannot have internet via a traditional telephone line (too far from the exchange, poor speeds, poor quality of line etc) then satellite broadband is a good plan B. As long as you have a clear line of sight to the south/south east then you can have satellite broadband. No telephone line is required.
Much like a satellite TV system, the installation consists of a satellite dish (usually larger than that required for TV services) with a head that can both receive and send data. This dish is connected to your satellite modem (specific to the service being used) and from this modem you can either cable directly to your computer or attach it to a WiFi router to enable users to work without the restriction of an Ethernet cable.
Please note that you cannot use your satellite TV dish set-up for satellite broadband.
Download speeds of up to 20Mbps are offered, though in reality you should expect somewhere between 10 & 15 as an average. Upload speeds of up to 2Mbps are also available. This is often far better than a telephone line based service.
One thing to note is that our satellite broadband packages are 'capped' by a monthly data allowance. This ranges from 3GB to 50GB per month depending on the chosen tariff. Whichever 'capped' service you chose, everything you do (emails, web browsing, social media, movie downloads, phone calls if applicable) eats into it. With this in mind, you need to consider carefully what you plan to use the service for. Details of what services use what amount of data are freely available on the internet. However, as an example, 200 emails per month equates to around 0.8GB of data depending on attachments, and downloading music (an album from iTunes for example) can use between 0.25GB and 0.4GB of data for a 10 track album. Downloading a standard definition move could use something close to 1.5GB of data.
However, even if you reach your monthly data cap you will never be cut-off. The service will just run very slowly.
Astra Connect can also include a telephone service. This means that your 'home' phone routes through your satellite modem to make calls rather than use a traditional line supplied by Orange.
The list of countries covered by the VoIP service are : Alaska (I know, not a country - it's not my list!), Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France (and territories), Greece, Hawaii (I know, see Alaska), Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Macau, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, USA, Virgin Islands.
Tariffs for satellite broadband start at just €10.95 per month for 3GB with an add-on phone service starting at €5.90 per month. Please be aware that other one-off connection fees may apply.
Please click here for the application form in English, or if you prefer, here for the form in French.
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