Where ADSL doesn't arrive, where fiber doesn't arrive and where Wi-Fi doesn't arrive either, there is only one hope for fast Internet: look to the sky.
To guarantee broadband connectivity even in those most isolated places in the nation, Open Fiber will use satellites. In fact, the agreement between the operator and Telespazio has been signed, in order to guarantee to all users a stable and super fast connection, just like the one via terrestrial means.
The partnership between Open Fiber and Telespazio allows in this way to expand the areas of coverage of the broadband connection, going to embrace in a capillary way the Italian territory up to the most remote places of our peninsula, all through the use of space technology. In this way, the wholesale operator will contribute to put another piece to the great mosaic of the tricolor digitalization, opposed to the digital divide that still splits Italy. As of today, in fact, there are still locations that are not reached by operators providing internet access.
The Open Fiber-Telespazio agreement
As confirmed by Open Fiber, Telespazio's satellites, called HTS - High Throughput Satellite, will provide broadband services. These allow to offer upload and download speeds superimposed on those on the ground. Consequently, anyone who connects to the network through this type of connection will be able to use it exactly like its counterpart in use in other regions of the nation.
So it will no longer be a problem not only to surf the net, but also to take advantage of services such as streaming platforms, to upload and download even large files - especially for smart working, which often requires going beyond the standards of the daily routine - or to participate in video conferences (such as those of Distance Learning), without problems of slowness or impossibility to listen to a whole speech without interruptions or slowdowns of any kind.
This is also true for the "very white" areas, i.e. without any coverage from either the fixed or mobile network to which Open Fiber is particularly aiming. About 200 municipalities, particularly difficult to reach or completely isolated from the point of view of internet connectivity, could therefore benefit in the future from ultra-fast satellite connection, although for now the solution adopted seems to be oriented to the use of FWA technology, or Fixed Wireless Access.
Open Fiber and Telespazio, what does the agreement
At the heart of the agreement there is the purchase of Internet access service STTH, or Satellite To The Home, by Open Fiber against Telespazio. To the HTS (High Throughput Satellite) satellites used for the service, then, you could also add those VHTS, Very High Throughput Satellite. These instruments are able to provide even better results than the first with capacities up to 500 Gbps.
Technically speaking, it will be the satellite link to carry the signal from the satellite to the antenna installed at the end customer's home. The system will be small in size, thus adapting to the surrounding environment and without having to request special requirements during installation.
Open Fiber, so it expands the offer
As recalled by Elisabetta Ripa, CEO of Open Fiber, the choice of collaboration with Telespazio goes to complete the offer of the wholesale operator, going to act on that area remained uncovered until now. "This technological solution allows us to bring our network everywhere: thanks to the agreement already in place with Telespazio, we are expanding the range of our offer even in the most inaccessible places in the country, in addition to FTTH and FWA fiber coverage plans. STTH, the satellite connection, will not replace these technologies, but an alternative opportunity to wire places that would otherwise remain without connectivity".