Wal-Mart to sell satellite broadband

Retail giant Wal-Mart has announced that it is to start selling satellite broadband to consumers.

Customers will be able to subscribe to , the largest provider of satellite broadband in the US. Subscriptions to HughesNet will be available in 2,800 Wal-Mart stores across America. The HughesNet service is available in many of the more rural, remote locations in the US where traditional broadband is not yet available.

Mike Cook, senior vice president, North America Division at Hughes, said: "Wal-Mart is perhaps the only retail store in the country that reaches as many people as HughesNet.
"This relationship is a powerful way to make broadband a reality for the millions of Americans and small business owners who cannot get high-speed internet access from cable or DSL providers."

HughesNet currently has over 350,000 subscribers and has shipped systems to consumers in more than 100 countries. Wal-Mart is currently the largest private employer in the world.

HughesNet Expands Customer Base

Broadband satellite company Hughes has announced that it will expand the customer base for its HughesNet service. The expansion will be mainly in areas of the U.S., which are underserved, the company said. Performance, rather than price, is the driving factor when it comes to consumers buying broadband, according to Hughes.

Jimmy Schaeffler, a senior analyst at cable conglomerates the Carmel Group, said: "Today's consumers want to download songs and video clips and e-mail pictures to and from family and friends. "Frustrated by slow dial-up, larger percentages of consumers living in areas overlooked by terrestrial broadband providers are choosing satellite for their broadband needs."

Currently Hughes offers five different satellite broadband plans. The highest download speed offered by the company is two megabits per second. Up to 60 percent of US homes will have broadband by the end of 2007, according to recently released research. And cable operators will see a reduction in their share of the market, the report from legal and business information company Pike and Fischer shows.

Although not as fast as DSL or Cable, satellite is a great alternative to dial-up for those without any other high-speed option", states Mark Weibel, EVP of Marketing for Broadband National, the industries leading comparative shopping website. "They'll be able to enjoy downloading music and video much faster than before not to mention the new and emerging broadband products and services."

For more information on broadband and other digital products and services visit www.broadbandnational.com