The satellite Internet access service is especially suited to remote areas, with low population density and/or a more complex orography. Despite the low penetration of this service in Portugal (0.03% of total accesses), the number of accesses grew in the 3rd quarter of 2021, reaching 1.3 thousand, which represents a growth by 4.7% over the same period of the previous year. It is worth mentioning that satellite Internet has been growing significantly since the end of 2018. Between Q4 2018 and Q3 2020 the number of subscribers increased by 78.5%.
At the end of 2021, seven providers were identified as marketing retail satellite Internet access service offers in Portugal.
This service requires the outdoor installation and alignment of a small satellite dish and a router (sold or rented by providers). The installation may be carried out by the customer or by the provider and, once the service is activated, it is immediately available.
Satellite Internet access offers advertised by providers on their websites allow download speeds of up to 100 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 10 Mbps. Unlike most fixed-network offers, satellite Internet access offers with lower monthly fees impose traffic limits.
The monthly service fee is generally higher than equivalent residential offers supported on other networks, although increasingly competitive offers are now becoming available.
It should also be noted that the provision of this service is influenced by atmospheric conditions, which may cause misalignment of antennas, reduce bandwidth and eventually require specialised technical assistance.
Consult the statistical report:
- Acesso à Internet via Satélite - Disponibilidade, mensalidades e atributos https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1714138
