With over 10 million customers, most people understand how Sky TV works – a small dish receives TV signals from a satellite into a box in their house. Satellite broadband is very similar in that it receives information to a small dish and transfers the information via a cable connected to a modem in your house. In addition, our satellite broadband also sends out information to the satellite so you have a fast two-way broadband connection.

Through the air rather than under ground cables

Rather than use an underground copper/fibre network like BT, satellite broadband operates by sending and receiving your broadband signal to a satellite about 22,000 miles in space. Because the satellite sits high up in space, it can provide equal quality of coverage to every home or business in its footprint. That’s why the satellite broadband services that we offer are available across the whole of Europe.

Download and upload from dish to satellite and back again

Most people are quite familiar with one-way satellite like Sky or Freesat television where the satellite transmits into your home. Satellite broadband receives information in much the same way ie. information or data is transmitted to your home by the satellite. In addition, via the satellite dish at your home, you actually transmit to the satellite (“upload”) the information that you are sending as well.

Broadband is Broadband

When you are using broadband inside your home, what’s going on outside is pretty irrelevant. In much the same way as the broadband using copper or fibre is buried and out of sight, the satellite broadband signal is similarly invisible.

Just like you take your mobile telephone for granted, as a service used by millions of customers across the world, you’ll quickly take your satellite broadband for granted. In no time at all, you’ll wonder how you ever managed before you had satellite broadband installed – in fact - just like your mobile phone!

From email to video-conferencing and everything in-between

Because your broadband signal does travel to and from the satellite, some internet applications work differently over satellite than they do on a copper/fibre network. Typically the more data being sent either way, the better the system performs. Hence latency has the least impact on applications like file downloading (eg. films, photos etc) and streaming but these applications do use data allowances very quickly. At the other end of the scale, it is online gaming where typically the latency does spoil the fun and is the one area that we do not recommend satellite broadband for. Everything else from email to internet and social media to VoIP typically perform.

Speedy, easy set up

If you own or have seen a Sky TV satellite dishes then you can picture satellite broadband.

  • We install the broadband satellite dish outside
  • We connect the dish to an indoor modem
  • Normally we add a wireless router at the same time allowing you to enjoy your broadband throughout your home
  • You connect your computer, smartphone or tablet to make sure that you're happy with the system
  • You're online

For a standard installation,everything's usually complete inside a couple of hours with minimal disruption and no mess. Your engineer will provide a full demonstration of your new equipment and won't leave until you're completely satisfied.

Check out what our satisfied customers say here.