Broadband satellite launch 'enables greater VoIP access'

The number of VoIP users could be set to soar after the successful launch of Europe's first dedicated broadband satellite.

Hylas-1, developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) in partnership with Avanti Communications, employs the latest technology which it is hoped will provide high-speed internet access in previously hard-to-reach locations such as rural villages, known as 'notspots'.

Built in Portsmouth, the small spacecraft was placed into orbit 34 minutes after launching from the ESA's Kourou spaceport in French Guiana, while its signal was picked up by an antenna in India almost immediately.

Project coordinators hope the 2.6-tonne satellite's flexible technology - which enables it to modify its data throughput depending on consumer demand - will provide broadband speeds of up to 10Mbps across the continent.

Science minister David Willets told the BBC: "Now that we've got this satellite access, we'll be able to get fast broadband for the first time [in notspots]."