With Starlink in their sights, telecom operators around the world are seeing satellite internet as a real vector for attracting a customer base still limited to ADSL, particularly in white zones. Orange is one of the first companies to offer its offering in partnership with Nordnet. Here’s what we know about it.
Orange satellite // Source: Frandroid
Satellite internet is not new. Long before Starlink and since the early 2000s, several satellite internet service providers have operated in the country over time. A notable company in this space is Eutelsat, a European satellite operator. The latter provided satellite communications services, including Internet access, in France and other regions.
Since then, however, technologies have evolved and the spectrum promised by Internet connectivity via satellite networks has expanded significantly. At least for the least served areas or those limited to ADSL (which is already scheduled to end), they are becoming almost an alternative to terrestrial fiber, and there are still many of them in France. The alternative to mobile networks is still too unreliable given the very high utilization rates in white zones and especially the data limitations imposed by the packages.
After announcing in July 2023 its desire to enter the satellite Internet market, the historic French operator Orange decided to announce and then launch its special offer under the name “Satellite Orange” in November 2023, with the declared desire to use Starlink or even Amazon to compete with Kuiper. Orange apparently used its Nordnet branch, which the operator acquired in 2010.
Satellite Orange: How much does it cost?
The ‘Satellite Orange’ offer appears in a separate section of its Fiber and ADSL subscriptions with Livebox and sits alongside its 4G and 5G home internet offers. However, the strategic and price positioning are quite similar. Here you can find the detailed prices.
- Registration fee: 49.99 euros per month.
- Price of the dish: 8 euros per month (rent) Or 299 euros to buy.
- Price for installation by a professional (optional): 299 euros.
- Subscription Fees (Activation + Delivery): 50 Euros.
In total, over a year (with the rental option), The Satellite Orange offer costs 745 euros. This is of course significantly more expensive than a Livebox offer (in this case the Livebox Fiber offer), which would cost a little more than 400 euros for the same term. Note that in certain cases it is possible to receive state aid of up to 300 euros to reimburse the purchase of the satellite dish if you choose this option.
The commercial side for the Orange Satellite offer
Compared to Starlink, it is slightly more expensive. The offer from Elon Musk’s company is 40 euros per month, of which 10 euros is for antenna rental and 23 euros for shipping and maintenance. So an annual sum of 623 euros.
Is Satellite Orange comparable to a Livebox fiber offering?
Don’t expect the same guarantees from Satellite Orange as you would from a traditional Livebox fiber offering. For example, the operator does not provide no live boxjust a dedicated Nordnet router and access to landline telephony (unlimited calls to landlines and mobile networks in mainland France). Not a UHD TV box nor a TV package (except the 26 TNT channels), which is a shame considering the price. We would have liked to have benefited from Orange’s comprehensive services.
Satellite Orange: What speeds are announced?
The promise announced by Satellite Orange is to offer its customers a connection of up to 200 Mbps download And 15 Mbps sending. The offer has just been launched and is currently not verifiable. So we will wait for more data to prove this fact.
However, we can make comparisons with the competition already established in France and in particular with Starlink. Technically for the first time since Starlink deploys a constellation of satellites in low orbit around Earth, allowing for lower latency and faster connectivity. Even though Nordnet connects via the latest Eutelsat Konnect VHTS, launched in September 2022, it remains a traditional geostationary satellite and is therefore placed at a higher altitude.
- Low Earth orbit satellites (Starlink): between 540 and 570 km.
- Traditional geostationary satellites (Nordnet): approx. 35,786 km.
Are Satellite Orange speeds comparable to Starlink?
Starlink is a promise of 200 to 250 Mbit/s And 30 to 40 Mbit/s Send and download. This is therefore comparable to what Satellite Orange offers. However, the comparison no longer applies at the level of perceived latency. If we specify latency as a function of satellite distance, we get:
- Starlink: 40 to 60 ms ping.
- Nordnet (Orange): more than 600 ms ping.
Therefore, Orange’s solution has little or no suitability for applications that enable terrestrial fiber, such as cloud streaming of video games. However, this can also affect downloads, online gaming, video conferencing, or any other real-time communication using video or even voice. Apparently Orange is careful not to share such information. In this regard, 4G and 5G connections are almost more suitable.
Who is Satellite Orange’s target audience?
At the moment, the technology promised by Orange does not match the level that Starlink offers. We would have liked the prices to be set accordingly, but we saw above that this is not the case. In addition, Orange has obviously only put its stamp on the Nordnet offering, which has already existed for several years; it is not an adaptation of Livebox packages to satellite.
Orange is essentially targeting customers who live in the most remote areas, known as “white zones,” where land and mobile connections are still too limited. In theory, this can be a good alternative when choices are limited. However, if at the moment you have no problem choosing Elon Musk’s solution over the French one, Starlink offers a better offer and more guarantees.
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