Ecommerce Alliance AG, which is listed in the Entry Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ISIN DE000A12UK08 / WKN A12UK0) continues to invest in the fast-growing “internet via satellite" market and has increased its interest in Orbit Internet Service GmbH. In the first quarter of 2014 Ecommerce Alliance AG acquired a 10 per cent interest in the Trier-based company Orbit Internet Service GmbH. This interest has now been increased to 14 per cent.
Orbit Internet Service GmbH is a holding company that invests in innovative, high-growth companies in the “internet via satellite” market. The investment portfolio currently includes two internet service providers which market satellite services for their respective network providers in Germany. These are getinternet GmbH, which offers the toowayTM service provided by Eutelsat Broadband, and the internet service provider orbitcom GmbH, which, as the marketing partner of SES Broadband Services, one of the world’s leading satellite operators, markets the satellite-based “single-antenna broadband service Astra Connect”.
Satellite-based broadband services are becoming increasingly important particularly in rural and underserved regions of Germany and, due to their unlimited availability, are making an important contribution to achieving nationwide broadband coverage. It should also be remembered that not only rural regions are affected by the non-availability of broadband, households on the outskirts of many cities are struggling with poor internet provision despite a number of broadband initiatives. In Germany alone 3.7 million households currently have a broadband speed of less than 2 Mbit/s and around one million households have no internet connection. However, with “DSL via Sky”, speeds of up to 22 Mbit/s are possible.
Daniel Wild, Chairman of the Management Board of Ecommerce Alliance AG: “There is enormous potential in the “internet via satellite” market because the current broadband coverage is still inadequate. We have recognised this and want to become the market leader in this sector. By increasing our interest in Orbit Internet Service GmbH, we have underlined our aim of hastening growth in the Mobile segment.”
In their marketing, both internet service providers rely on direct sales and online channels. In new customer acquisition, in particular the medium of TV is being given a lot of attention and increasing the respective internet visitor statistics due to the TV2Web effect. If you are interested, you can find more information at www.getinternet.de and www.orbitcom.de.
