Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. and France-based NordNet, have announced the commercial deployment of Gilat's Ka-band VSATs in support of SES Broadband Services' (SBBS) Ka-band consumer service rollout.

"We are very excited with the service take-up so far which allows us to provide our customers with a true alternative to low-end DSL," said Francis Piet, CEO of NordNet.

"We are proud to have made the promise of affordable, high-end broadband services a reality for many French households and Gilat is helping us to get there."

Gilat's award winning SkyEdge II-c "Aries" VSAT provides up to 20Mbps HTTP on download and 2Mbps on upload, offering one of the fastest broadband-over-satellite services currently available in France.

With Aries, French households who lack high-quality DSL services will be able to benefit from considerably faster Internet speeds, allowing them to take full advantage of all triple-play services.

"We are very happy to be working with NordNet as they roll out the SBBS service in France. The Aries VSAT was designed from the bottom up to support the stringent requirements of residential broadband - offering reliable high-speed data rates with quick and intuitive self-installation features and automatic service activation," said Erez Antebi, CEO at Gilat.

"The strong initial demand for the service is a testament to the growing place of broadband-over-satellite as a viable communication resource for households."