Satellite broadband trial coming to UK 'not spots'

Rural regions of the UK that are not currently served by traditional line-based broadband are to undergo a trial using satellite broadband.

Satellite broadband works in the same way as satellite television: a dish is installed at a property which then take a signal from satellites and converts it into a broadband connection. It is hoped that for Britain's most remote areas - the five per cent that are unable to access broadband - this solution will bring a welcome boost to their connectivity.

Known as rural 'not spots', these hard to reach areas have not been targeted by internet service providers because they are not financially feasible for them to install the infrastructure for such a small number of people.

According to uSwitch, these rural areas will be able to access satellite broadband of up to 30Mb. Some of the locations that are set to benefit from the satellite broadband trial include Antrim, The Borders and Aberdeenshire, with the government offering up £885,640 of funding to help the project.

Many of the areas of the UK being targeted can be found across Northern Ireland and Scotland; it is estimated that as many as 13,000 commercial and residential premises in these places will benefit from the new superfast broadband access.

To help get the initiative off the ground, the government has also added that for the first 1,000 customers that sign up to the scheme they will install and connect the service free of charge.

The government has set a target to provide 95 per cent of the British population with access to superfast broadband by 2017 - this scheme will help boost that number by targeting the 'not spots'.

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