Equipment for the SES Broadband Services’ (SBBS) Astra Connect solution. Photo: SBBS

[Via Satellite 06-10-2014] SES Broadband Services’ (SBBS) Astra Connect high-speed Internet solution was selected for the Connected Schools project by the French government. The project aims to connect and subsidize Internet delivery to up to 9,000 eligible schools in France that don’t have access to fiber or a terrestrial Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL).

SBBS’ distribution partners in the project are Connexion Verte, Wilbox and Auvea. The Ka-band solution will provide download speeds of up to 25 Mbps and daily volume allowances, such as 1 GB, 2 GB or 4 GB per day, on school days beginning at 7 a.m. and ending at 6 p.m. The solution provides priority access to the Astra Connect network during these hours and within the attributed volume; outside of this range, the service delivers in a “best effort mode,” with unlimited access to the network and download speeds of up to 16 Mbps.

“The deployment of ADSL and fiber networks has still not reached many schools in various regions and our solution will deliver to them immediate access comparable to urban broadband Internet networks,” said Patrick Biewer, managing director of SES Broadband Services. “This project will further strengthen our position both in the French connectivity market and the education sector.”