People living in the sticks, rejoice! Bloomberg is reporting that Dish Network is planning to roll out a nationwide satellite broadband internet service —and promises speeds of between 5 and 15 megabits per second.
The satellite, EchoStar 17, is owned by Dish’s sister company and was launched on July 5th this year. People “familiar with the matter” have told Bloomberg that its capable of offering download speeds of 15 megabits per second, but that when Dish opens it up to the public, it would probably offer rates of 5 megabits to maximize capacity. In total, says Bloomberg’s source, Dish could handle about 2 million new Internet customers with the service.
While Dish already offers satellite broadband, it’s limited to small pockets of the US. According to the same source, the service will be available nationwide from late September or early October, and the emphasis will be placed on providing coverage for people in remote areas without access to cable broadband. Finally, Netflix at the ranch. [Bloomberg]
Image by hdaniel under Creative Commons license
