Press & PR

A new broadband project could bring high-speed internet access to rural parts of the UK, it has been claimed.

The scheme would involve attaching compact mobile broadband transceivers which would then be launched to stabilise in the upper reaches of the earth's atmosphere.

Space Data, the US-based firm behind the idea, has announced its intention to develop the technology in UK markets after a series of highly successful domestic trials.

People living in rural areas would be paid to launch the balloons, which are capable of delivering high-speed wireless services to an area eight times the size that can be covered by conventional telephone masts.

Subscribers would then be able to access the service anywhere in the area to take advantage of facilities such as video streaming and VoIP

It has proven particularly useful in parts of America where people have been denied access to broadband because of commercially unjustifiable installation costs, states company spokesperson Jerry Knoblach.

Vonage is allowing people to make cheap calls using their broadband connection, with monthly packages starting at just £5.99 a month.