Freebox!

["Mark McCall" <mark@xxxxxxx>]

Just read this on ZDnet....

M.

Satellite broadband from Freebox

03 Nov 2000 12:44 GMT
Jane Wakefield
Satellite has its faults, but Freebox
reckonsit's just what you data
hogsneed
Freebox -- the firm that promised to
tacklethe digital divide by giving away
freeNet-enabled set-top boxes -- is
rollingout a satellite broadband service.
Unlike the set-top box service, this
servicewill not be free. Installation of
thesatellite disk will cost £249 and
therewillbe a monthly charge of
£14.99.For thisusers will get
downloadspeeds of128kbps and an
always-on Internetconnection.
While the promise of broadband may
beappealing, satellite systems are
restrictedin that most are only one-
way.To uploaddata users have to
employa conventionalmodem.
James Eibisch, analyst with research
firmIDC, believes satellite broadband
serviceswill only be useful in remote
areas."Satellite tends to be more
expensivethan ADSL or cable for the
same
amount of bandwidth and bi-directional
servicesare even moreexpensive." He
thinks satellite willbecome a useful
substitute for usersunable to get their
hands on eitherADSL or cable.
Chris Miles, business development
managerof Globalwave -- the company
implementingFreebox's service --
believesEibisch has missed the most
compellingreason to use satellite: "You
canget digital quality TV and content
delivereddirect to your hard drive," he
says."ADSL and cable are not very
goodat delivering huge amounts of
multimediacontent."
Freebox also announces that the £10
registration
fee for its multimedia set-topbox has
been waived. Demand forthe boxes --
which provide Internet connectivity,
DVD player and access to digital TV --
has created a six month waiting list.
Freebox plans to make money from
content deals but IDC analyst Jason
Armitage is not entirely convinced by
Freebox' decision to offer so many
functions on the box. "It raises
questions in my mind about why it is
offering so much functionality rather
than online capabilities," he says.
Armitage believes firms that choose to
give away set-top boxes are caught in
something of a Catch 22 situation.
"You have to build a substantial user
base of several hundred thousand
before you can start making advertising
deals. How can they subsidise all these
boxes before they have started making
money from advertising and other
content deals?" he asks.


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