Broadband access via satellite a first

London: Rural Irish businesses and individual consumers will be able to access broadband for the first time via a new satellite launched yesterday in London.

Avanti Communications Group’s Hylas 1 satellite is the first of its kind outside the US. It will lift off on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guyana. The most powerful of Hylas 1’s beams will be trained on Ireland.

Avanti chief executive David Williams said: “This is a landmark day for consumers and businesses across Europe, who have been frustrated by lack of access to adequate broadband.”