Hughes Network Systems has announced that Canada’s largest rural broadband provider, Barrett Xplore has committed to acquire and operate over 10 Gbps of capacity on Jupiter, a next-generation, high-throughput satellite. Jupiter is scheduled for launch in 2012.
With Jupiter, Barrett Xplore expects to offer a range of broadband packages up to 10 Mbps for residential service and up to 25 Mbps for business, with performance and pricing comparable to that in terrestrial broadband markets.
John Maduri, CEO at Barrett Xplore said:
Jupiter will enable Barrett Xplore to provide significantly enhanced service offerings to our current customers, and offer additional capacity to serve hundreds of thousands of rural Canadian households. This considerable investment in satellite capacity demonstrates Barrett’s ongoing commitment to rural broadband and strengthens our ability to reach all rural Canadian households with cost-effective, high-speed Internet.
The agreement is valued in excess of U.S. $100 million.