SES signs Astra Connect broadband deal with Swisscom

Satellite operator SES has signed a deal with Swisscom to provide its Astra Connect broadband service to customers in Switzerland.

Swisscom will use SES’s satellite-delivered internet offering to help cover the roughly 2% of Swiss homes that are unable to receive DSL broadband at the minimum required transmission rate.

Swisscom, which has a universal broadband service obligation in Switzerland, will start to deploy the Astra Connect service with immediate effect, at the same time as upgrading existing access lines.

“We have chosen to partner with SES for this project as it is renowned for reliable solutions and for being a high quality supplier. We are also convinced by the scalability of the Astra Connect solution,” said Peter Eschmann, head of broadband service obligation, Swisscom.

The Astra Connect service uses Ka-band capacity on SES’s Astra 2E satellite, which went into service at 28.2 degrees east on February 1, 2014.

The solution has been in operation since 2007 and provides next generation broadband services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa – including to remote areas.