Boosted broadband goes into orbit

Broadband services are likely to be given a speed increase from improved satellite connections over the next few years, as new initiatives have been announced.

While Europeans are to be targeted by a broadband satellite from Eutelsat, the US and Canada will be the focus of an even faster space-based solution from ViaSat.

ViaSat chief executive Mark Dankberg told the San Diego Tribune the initiative will be "the biggest opportunity we've ever had, and it might well be the biggest we ever will see".

And with the increasing demands from web-based services for more bandwidth, the satellite connections are likely to be most welcome following their deployment by early 2011.

VoIP communication is likely to be a significant beneficiary of these launches due to its bandwidth-heavy services, which requires a speedy and reliable internet connection to provide good quality voice and video links.