28 November 2018

Cornish businesses now have access to superfast download speeds of up to 40Mbps from less than £1per day by using the latest satellite technology. This follows Avanti Communications cutting the price of its European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) business satellite broadband scheme by an average of 63 per cent.

UK-based Avanti operates a fleet of satellites that covers Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Under a scheme financed by the ERDF, it provides subsidised superfast connectivity to rural businesses across Cornwall and Isles of Scilly. The initiative targets areas where there is no broadband connectivity or where access speeds are lower than 2Mbps.

Avanti is running the project from its satellite operations base at the famous Goonhilly site on Cornwall’s Lizard peninsula.

Avanti is running the project from its satellite operations base at Goonhilly on the Lizard peninsula. The project has funding to provide high-speed broadband connectivity of up to 40Mbps to up to 1,000 businesses across the region. It also covers a free satellite dish and a modem along with subsidised rates for installation and monthly tariffs.

Citing estimates from Cornwall Council, Avanti says around 6,500 businesses in the county are stuck in the “economic slow lane” without access to broadband speeds greater than 30Mbps. It says these firms communities have been underserved and are missing out on being able to grow their businesses.

“They have not had access to the fundamental basics of being able to communicate with their customers and employees,” says Avanti’s chief sales officer Belinda Silous. “We are enabling Cornish businesses and entrepreneurs to have access to our superfast satellite broadband service to encourage growth in the [local] market [and] by delivering access no matter where they are located.”