Deutsche Telekom, Eutelsat partner to serve remote areas in Germany

Deutsche Telekom and Eutelsat Communications have signed an agreement covering the distribution by Deutsche Telekom, Europe’s largest telecommunications provider, of high-speed satellite broadband via the Eutelsat Konnect satellite.

Under the agreement, Deutsche Telekom will commercialize Eutelsat Konnect high-speed broadband Internet offers for households in Germany with limited internet connection, starting from the end of 2021.

Deutsche Telekom and Eutelsat have also agreed to discuss an extension of their partnership in the future. This closer co-operation would result in Deutsche Telekom offering its own products via Eutelsat’s current and future infrastructure.

In service since November 2020, Eutelsat Konnect has a total capacity of 75 Gbps and is capable of offering speeds of up to 100 Mbps to both individuals and companies in the digital divide. It covers the whole of Germany, as well as 14 other European countries.

Meanwhile, Telekom and Eutelsat are currently piloting an initial deployment in the city of Heimerzheim where the fixed network was badly affected by the floods in July. Crucial connectivity has been re-established via satellite connection providing WLAN coverage for an information point where both relief workers and affected residents can access the Internet free of charge.

Commenting on the agreement, Rodolphe Belmer, Eutelsat’s Chief Executive Officer said: “We are excited to enlist the power of Deutsche Telekom as a distributor of our satellite broadband offer in Germany, one of Europe’s largest markets. This type of agreement illustrates the confidence of major telecommunications operators in our offer; it further highlights the relevance of satellite as a cost-effective and reliable infrastructure, enabling them to extend their reach beyond the scope of terrestrial networks and assure ubiquitous coverage of a territory. Following the agreements with Orange in France and TIM in Italy, this is another significant milestone strengthening our go-to-market strategy in a third major market in Europe."

“Our ambition is to be the leader in both fixed and mobile communications”, added André Almeida, Managing Director Private Customers at Telekom Deutschland. “Our fiber roll-out remains one of the key building blocks for digitization in Germany. In the coming years, Telekom will make a massive contribution to further increasing the number of fiber connections for households and companies in Germany. The cooperation with Eutelsat is a perfect complement of our portfolio in the coming years to offer highspeed broadband via satellite in regions where we have no high speed currently and for remote areas.”