European ISP Tiscali [Milan: TIS.MI] is forming a partnership with fixed-satellite service operator Eutelsat in order to accelerate their broadband subscriber numbers. Tiscali signed a deal with Eutelsat on May 15 to provide a pan-European one-way broadband Internet service via satellite.

Mario Mariani, senior vice president of business development at Tiscali, told SATELLITE TODAY that “satellite will have an important role in terms of broadband in Europe. We are talking about 40 percent to 50 percent of the territory that is not being covered by DSL or cable. In this area, there is 20 percent to 25 percent of the population. It is providing broadband service in an area where otherwise people would not be able to get access to broadband.”

An exclusive in-depth interview with Mario Mariani can be found in the May 21 issue of Interspace. For more information about subscribing to PBI Media’s satellite newsletters, check out our Web site at http://www.telecomweb.com/catalog