DirecTV to Offer 10 Mbps Satellite Broadband

DirecTV has announced partnerships with ViaSat and Hughes' HughesNet to offer satellite-delivered broadband access services across the United States at speeds of 10 Mbps or more. That might be significant to the extent that it means virtually any rural household will have immediate access to 10 Mbps broadband access, without the need for additional construction or capital investment. 


The move by DirecTV illustrates the use case for satellite-delivered broadband, namely its ability to rapidly and efficiently provide broadband access in rural areas at vastly lower cost, immediately, to isolated households.


Not all policy advocates will be completely happy with potential speeds or retail pricing. But it is hard to argue that there are more-efficient ways to invest capital for the purposes of providing broadband access to the three percent or so of the "hardest to serve" households in the United States.