question & answer
Connectivity in a disconnected world
A Q&A with Ed Sawday, Head of Sales for new satellite broadband service, konnect.
Satellite broadband has been around for a while now – can you tell us a bit about how it’s changed and what the market looks like in 2021? The long-standing perception of satellite broadband has unfortunately been quite poor and has been known to put people off in the first instance as many have viewed it as an expensive and inferior solution to terrestrial services. However, this perception is well and truly being turned on its head with the impressive technical capabilities and superior service offered to customers today. Recent years have seen the introduction of much product development in the satellite industry and as a result we can offer great, high quality satellite solutions to those in rural locations often unreachable by terrestrial broadband. Reliable connectivity, no matter where a customer lives, is something we are proud to be able to offer, especially during these times of lockdown and restrictions with many UK families separated. Moreover, with the huge switch to
working from home over the last year, and with many companies adopting long-term working from home policies this kind of fast, affordable and easily available service is needed more than ever, creating huge opportunities for electrical retail partners.
Is there space for satellite broadband today? Absolutely! Whilst other superfast broadband offers can provide great service, there is a massive opportunity to help people across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who are struggling to get a decent broadband connection – especially as customers are more concerned with connectivity than ever before, due to the lasting impact of the pandemic.
According to media regulator, Ofcom, 10Mbps is the bare minimum speed requirement for a modern household. With over half a million homes in the UK receiving broadband speeds below this level, 23% of homes and businesses having poor indoor 4G coverage from any of the mobile networks and 12% of rural properties lacking access to any decent broadband service, there is a whole community of people being neglected by other mainstream offerings. Furthermore, this issue isn’t restricted to those in rural areas – there are urban areas across the country which receive extremely poor coverage whilst just a few streets over there is ultra-high-speed broadband. The opportunity is there for konnect and its reseller partners to bring superfast satellite broadband to premises around the country.
Why konnect? Part of leading satellite operator, Eutelsat, our new konnect service offers superfast broadband, via the recently launched
KONNECT satellite, which became operational at the end of 2020. konnect satellite broadband offers a congestion free service with impressive speeds of up to 100Mbps, 150 Mbps has even been achieved in recent test environments. konnect is available now with near complete coverage throughout the UK, turning the ‘not spots’ into hot spots and playing a vital role in helping bridge the digital divide. Packages start from as low as £29.99, no equipment costs, no standard installation charge, no data caps or data “add-ons” and a contract length of just 12 months. The load on this service will remain manageable as in 24 months we will have another satellite that is operational, meaning konnect’s capacity is increased and customers do not suffer decreased speeds as a result. Furthermore, the unlimited data
plans really help to address the needs of individuals, households and small businesses alike, providing multiple revenue opportunities for retailers.
How can electrical retailers get involved? We are looking for electrical retailers who would like to partner with us and retail konnect. In return we offer great commission rates and if the partner takes on the installation we also pay very attractive rates for this, with additional payments covering any non-standard installation costs. Alternatively, if you want to steer clear of the installations that’s no problem, we’ll handle it. Once the customer is set up with superfast broadband, there’s a whole new revenue opportunity with cross-selling products that benefit from high-speed connection such as smart TVs, IoT devices, CCTV monitoring and more.
If your business is interested in retailing satellite broadband contact Ed at
esawday@eutelsat.com
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www.innovativeelectricalretailing.co.uk
February 2021
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