UK residents who live in rural areas could soon have access to fixed-line broadband thanks to a new service from Eutelstat Communications.

Tooway will be delivered via a network of certified local distributors, including Remote Data Services Ltd in Perthshire, Scotland, Avonline Ltd in Bristol and Worldwide Ltd in Oxfordshire.

The satellite service will initially offer speeds of up to 2Mb, but by 2010 this will rise to 10Mb, Eutelstat Communications said.

It will be available for £29.99 a month and customers will need to have a satellite dish attached to their property to receive the service.

No telephone line is required and the service is capable of reaching any home in the UK.

Commenting on the new service, Arduino Patacchini of Eutelsat said: "Tooway is able to offer true broadband access with total independence from existing infrastructures.

"It has the technology and capacity to become the definitive, low-cost solution for geographical areas that are affected by the digital divide."