[Satellite Today 05-25-09] Avanti Communications won a $345,000 contribution from the European Space Agency (ESA) for work on a preliminary design review of the Hercules satellite system, the company announced May 22.
    Hercules has been proposed to the U.K. Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) as part of Avanti’s response to the Digital Britain consultation.
    The Hercules system aims to provide a low cost method for delivery of broadband services at speeds between 2Mb and 50Mb to the 2.5 million rural homes in the U.K., the company said.