Internet Satellite ... Introduction

There are some parts of France where the telephone lines can't provide a broadband connection because of geographical limitations. One-way broadband via satellite is a bit of a compromise but it still uses a slow telephone dial-up connection for uploading. Two-way broadband via satellite has been very expensive and, realistically, only affordable by businesses ... until now.

ASTRA provides an affordable and reliable two-way broadband service via satellite that enables customers to enjoy a new 'always-on' broadband connection for the home or office. The service is called Astra2Connect and it uses satellite technology and offers a high speed internet connection with a flat rate subscription. This system uses satellite links for downloading and uploading and does not use France Telecom's telephone lines.

In a nutshell, if you live in an area of France where traditional broadband (ADSL) is not available ... you can have broadband by satellite. This system does not use telephone wires at all so you don't have to rely on Orange, Neuf etc to provide your high speed internet connection. Like us, you might have access to broadband but live and work in a very remote area where the telephone network is very fragile. We are a very small enterprise but have a very active on-line shop and there is nothing quite so frustrating as losing your phone line and internet access whenever there is a light shower over Limoges. We have now installed a two way satellite system to provide internet access to provide back-up for our main France Telecom/Orange service. As we have also decided to supply this service to our own customers, it allows us to demonstrate the system to anyone who wants to have a look before they buy.

If you think that 30 euros per month is a reasonable price to pay for this system, read on.