Avanti Communications wins £1.2m contract

AIM-listed Avanti Communications has won a contract worth up to £1.2m from the European Regional Development fund to provide 40Mbps broadband speeds to small businesses in Cornwall and Isles of Scilly.

Services will be available through Avanti's certified service providers, Bentley Walker SSW and Avonline. The broadband packages are available now and will enable small businesses in the region to have a high quality and reliable broadband service, even in the most rural areas, with around 1,000 businesses expected to take up the offer in the first year.

The service will provide the highest satellite broadband speeds available in Europe via Avanti's Ka-band HYLAS 1 and HYLAS 2 satellites, no matter how rural the location.

Chief executive David Williams said: "We welcome this broadband initiative, connecting rural businesses still not addressed by fibre. The capabilities of High Throughput Satellites (HTS) are well proven to meet the needs of rural businesses and the demand remains strong, so this initiative will help us to marry demand and supply in the region."

At 0955 BST, the shares were down 1.5% to 10p.