[Satellite TODAY 05-25-11] SES Astra is increasing the speed of its broadband service being offered in Europe, the company announced May 25.

     It will increase the download speed for Astra2Connectto beyond 10 Mbps by providing additional capacity from its 28.2 degrees East orbital position. With Eutelsat’s Ka-Sat satellite set to enter into commercial service in the coming months, SES Astra has responded by improving the quality of its own offer to potential customers.

     In June, SES Astra will start to provide higher download speeds of up to 6 Mbps in its existing Ku-band offerings. All new terminals deployed are ‘Ka-band ready’ allowing end users to easily migrate to Astra’s Ka-band services once they will become available in 2012. In September 2012, SES Astra will start to bring Ka-band capacity at 28.2 degrees East into use supporting download speeds of 10 Mbps and more.