Gilat-To-Home Inc. has a new name, StarBand Communications, but its plan to become America’s first consumer, two-way, high-speed satellite Internet service remains the same.

The McLean, Va.-based company said the StarBand name reflects an Internet high-speed delivery service that is wireless and ubiquitous. “We are pioneering a new category of high-speed Internet access,” said David Trachtenberg, president and chief marketing officer of StarBand Communications.

“With StarBand, consumers and communities across the United States will have their first opportunity to enjoy an always-on, two-way, high-speed Internet experience. StarBand means Internet access without the constraints of a cable or telephone wire. StarBand means multicasting, always-on, full-screen, TV-quality content on the computer,” Trachtenberg said.

The services will include personalized, on-demand movies, music, games and other high-speed content pushed to the very edge of the network directly to the subscriber’s computer, he added.

The service will bypass the congestion of cable and telephone lines. It is scheduled to be introduced commercially this fall.

StarBand recently agreed to lease 14 Ku-band transponders on Loral Skynet’s Telstar 7 satellite, ensuring capacity for the service. StarBand is expected to be rolled out to Canada and Mexico in 2001.