Pay as you need satellite broadband

TELECOMS

Paying only for what you need is a familiar concept in the telecommunications world – but until now, it was limited to cellphone use.

Maxwell Technology’s introduction of a ‘pay as you need’ service for its SkyeMax satellite broadband, businesses can now, for the first time, take advantage of the associated flexibility and low cost.

It’s a move that technical director Kallie Carlsen describes as appealing directly to customers pockets. “While our satellite technology is proven, effective and popular, we felt there was still a gap in the market which could be addressed. The realisation that price is second only to good connectivity resulted in a new pricing structure which enables customers to buy data bundles as they need them,” he explains.

"This system is not limited by maximum daily usage bundles, nor is the data throttled or shaped, thus allowing the user to use as much or as little data as he needs. We have also enhanced our time-of-day data usage matrix to create truly low cost zones in which users will pay significantly less for their data”.

A subsidiary of Barnstone Corporate Holdings, Maxwell brings solution-based innovation to the satellite connectivity market. Carlsen says a ‘pay as you need’ model becomes particularly attractive where this form of connectivity is used to augment terrestrial solutions.

Carlsen explains that VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) connectivity is effective in delivering affordable broadband anywhere. “However, this is only effective if affordable to those who need it – namely, users in unserviced or underserviced areas.”

Pointing out that the United Nations has declared internet access a basic human right, Carlsen says SkyeMax is a perfect conduit for knowledge delivery. “It’s optimised for reaching remote areas and can affordably provide many communities with their first access to the Internet”.

The new ‘pay as you need’ service is also of potential benefit to rural entrepreneurs. “Provided on this basis, the ability for such users to provide internet connectivity is now within easier reach.

And VSAT is an ideal, always-on, hot standby failover solution for businesses, offering connectivity backup even for businesses located in urban areas. On the new plan, businesses need not incur large ongoing costs to enjoy the benefit of failover connectivity,” Carlsen says.

With issues like copper cable theft among the potential interruptions to terrestrial networks, the necessity for such a backup connectivity plan is clear.

As a system which takes an average of three hours to set up and mere minutes to activate, Carlsen adds that deploying SkyeMax as a secondary solution or even as a primary one, is a simple matter, and now also a low-cost one. “Even small and medium sized businesses can now consider SkyeMax as a VSAT solution to stay connected, especially when their other connectivity options are compromised”.