In short: satellite broadband delivers an internet connection to your premises over a radio link to a satellite, rather than over a cable buried in the ground. Modern services use satellites in low Earth orbit, which sit far closer to the ground than the older generation did, so the connection feels much more like a normal broadband line than satellite internet did ten years ago. It is installed in days rather than months, it works anywhere with a clear view of the sky, and it does not depend on how far you are from a street cabinet or an exchange.
What does satellite broadband actually mean?
A fixed line connection carries your data along a physical path: copper or fibre from your building to a cabinet, then on to an exchange, then into the wider internet. Satellite broadband replaces the first part of that journey with a radio link.
A dish at your premises points at a satellite. The satellite relays your traffic to a ground station that is connected to the internet by fibre, and the reply comes back the same way. Nothing has to be dug, and nothing depends on the distance between you and the nearest cabinet.
That is the whole idea. Everything else people find confusing about satellite broadband comes from the difference between the old generation of services and the current one.
Why is satellite broadband different now?
The older satellite services used geostationary satellites, which orbit roughly 36,000 km above the equator. A signal has to travel up and back down again, so the physics alone put a noticeable delay on every request. That delay is what gave satellite internet its reputation for being unusable for calls, video meetings and anything interactive.
Current services use low Earth orbit constellations, which fly a few hundred kilometres up instead. The round trip is far shorter, so the delay is far smaller. The trade off is that a low orbit satellite crosses the sky quickly, so the service needs many satellites and a dish that hands off between them automatically. That handover is done by the equipment, not by you.
This is the single most important thing to understand before comparing quotes. Two things both described as satellite broadband can behave completely differently depending on which orbit they use. Brdy resells both Starlink and Eutelsat OneWeb, which are both low Earth orbit networks.
What satellite broadband is, and what it is not
It is a primary connection. Plenty of sites run on it as their only line, with no fixed line at all.
It is not mobile broadband. A 4G or 5G router depends on a nearby mast and on how many other people are using that mast. A satellite dish does not.
It is not a last resort. It is often the fastest connection available at a rural site, because the alternative is a fixed line that would need a civil works quote and a lead time measured in months.
It is not restricted to one building. The same technology runs on vehicles, vessels and temporary sites, which is why it turns up in maritime and construction settings as often as in offices.
It is not weather proof in the way a buried cable is. Very heavy rain or snow sitting on the dish can degrade the signal. In normal wet or snowy weather this is a minor effect rather than an outage.
How fast is it, and is the delay noticeable?
Speeds vary by network, by plan and by how busy the local coverage cell is, so any single number quoted without those caveats is marketing rather than information. What matters in practice is whether the connection supports what your site actually does: video calls, cloud applications, card payments, CCTV upload, remote access to a management system.
On a low Earth orbit service, video calls and cloud software work normally. The delay is low enough that most users cannot tell they are on satellite. Latency sensitive trading platforms and some industrial control applications are the exceptions worth checking case by case.
What do you need to install it?
Three things. A clear view of the sky, somewhere to mount the dish, and power.
Obstructions matter more than distance. A tree line, a tall neighbouring building or a roof parapet in the wrong place will interrupt the signal as satellites pass behind it. A survey before install exists to find those problems rather than to sell you anything.
Installation is typically a single visit rather than a civil works project, which is why sites that cannot wait for fibre tend to end up here.
Who is it for?
Rural premises where fixed line options are poor or absent. That is the obvious one, and it is a large group in every market where a subsidised fibre rollout is still in progress. The UK is a worked example: the August 2026 Project Gigabit figures show 296,770 of 846,770 contracted premises built so far. Wherever your site sits in that remainder, satellite is available now rather than at some point in a contract schedule.
Sites that move or are temporary. Construction compounds, events, film units, vessels and vehicles all need connectivity in places where nothing is going to be installed permanently.
Businesses that cannot afford to be offline. A satellite link makes a good failover connection precisely because it does not share any physical infrastructure with your fixed line. A digger through a duct takes out the cable and leaves the dish working.
Remote monitoring and IoT deployments, where the data volumes are small but the location is impossible. This is common in agriculture, energy and utilities.
How does it compare to fibre, 4G and 5G?
Where full fibre is available and affordable at your site, it is usually the better primary connection. The question only becomes interesting when it is not available, the quote for an install is large, or the lead time is long.
Against 4G and 5G, the comparison is about predictability. Mobile coverage depends on mast distance, terrain and how many other people are on the same cell at the same moment, so performance at a rural site can vary hour to hour. A satellite link is less exposed to local congestion of that kind.
Against older satellite services, there is no real contest for interactive use. If someone tried satellite internet years ago and gave up on it, they were almost certainly on a geostationary service.
What should you ask before you buy?
Ask what orbit the service uses. Ask what the contention or fair use policy actually says, and what happens to your speeds if you exceed a data allowance rather than whether one exists. Ask whether the hardware is bought or rented, and who owns it at the end of the term. Ask what the support arrangement is when the dish is on a roof in the middle of nowhere. Ask whether a static or public IP address is available if your systems need one, because this varies by network and plan. Starlink does not offer a true static IP; Brdy provides one through the Netcelero and Peplink add ons.
More detail on all of these sits in the Brdy technical support FAQs, and the guides library covers installation and setup step by step.
Frequently asked questions
Is satellite broadband fast enough for video calls?
On a low Earth orbit service, yes. The delay is low enough that video meetings, cloud software and voice calls behave normally. Older geostationary satellite services were not suitable for this, which is where the reputation came from.
Does satellite broadband work in bad weather?
It works in normal wet and cold weather. Very heavy rain, and snow or ice sitting on the dish itself, can temporarily reduce performance. Positioning the dish well and keeping it clear addresses most of it.
Do I need a phone line for satellite broadband?
No. The connection does not use a fixed line at all, which is why it can be installed at sites with no existing infrastructure.
Can satellite broadband be used as a backup connection?
Yes, and it is one of the strongest reasons to have it. Because it shares no physical route with your fixed line, a cable fault that takes out your main connection does not affect it. That is the basis of a satellite failover setup.
What do I need at the site to install it?
A clear view of the sky, a mounting point for the dish, and power. Obstructions such as trees and taller buildings matter more than how remote the location is.
Is satellite broadband only for rural areas?
No. Rural sites are the most common use, but the same technology is used for vehicles, vessels, temporary sites and as a backup connection at urban premises with good fixed line service.