WorldCom to use two-way satellite delivery as part of broadband strategy

WorldCom is working with Hughes Network Systems to add two-way, very small aperture terminal [VSAT] satellite delivery to its arsenal of broadband delivery mechanisms for the small-to-medium business segment.

The service combines the capabilities of a newly created business edition of Hughes’ DIRECWAY data delivery with WorldCom’s IP network to supplement DSL and T1 services. WorldCom will deliver up to 1 Mbps of data over the satellite network that covers the 48 contiguous United States.

“There’s a version available for a single user, and there’s a version available for a small office with a group of workers on a LAN,” said Ralph Montfort, director of Internet Access Products for WorldCom.

Single users will get 600 Kbps downstream speeds with 128 Kbps upstream. Multi-user sites will choose between 600/800 Mbps and 1 Gbps downstream with the 128 Kbps upstream.

Montfort said single-user service will launch early next year while multi-user service could begin as early as the second quarter of next year, but more likely will start in the third quarter. He said prices will be “comparable to business-class DSL” which runs $120 for 128 K/bps of symmetric service for single users and $160 for 384 K/bps for multiple users.

“It will be priced at a premium for two reasons,” he said. “You’re getting more bandwidth on the downstream side, and you’re getting a whole bunch more coverage in terms of the available population it can serve.”