WildBlue is a satellite ISP, and it recently sealed a deal to put Google’s products in front of its customers.  Gmail, Google Talk, Google Calendar, Google Page Creator, and Google Gadgets are all involved, so this is more than some sort of superficial, email-related exchange.

"We think WildBlue’s customers will enjoy discovering these new and exciting opportunities to find, share and interact on the web," said Stephen Cho, the product management director of Google Syndication Products, in a statement.

Now, normally, we might cut out that bit of PR-speak.  But it seems unusually relevant at the moment, given a debate over Google Docs and Google Spreadsheet.  Garett Rogers writes, "The right place for Google is at the consumer level – until it can take greater steps to cover the majority of needs enterprise users have, they should focus on doing exactly what they did with WildBlue."

We still won’t look for Google to topple Microsoft, then (at least not in the near future), but as it makes improvements (and Microsoft makes mistakes), market shares may move.

Satellite services have yet to reach the speeds offered by DSL or cable lines, but they still leave dial-up with a proper dusting. HughesNet, considered to be one company at the forefront of rural broadband, offers satellite connections speeds of up to 700 Kbps for residential services.

Telecommunications giant AT&T is also getting into the game by partnering with Wildblue Communications to sell Wildblue’s satellite broadband services. Later in May, “AT&T High Speed Internet Access, powered by WildBlue,” will start expanding into a 13-state area without DSL lines.

The pricing for satellite service is a drawback for both HughesNet and WildBlue. With AT&T’s Wildblue service, customers pay $80 per month for 1.5 Mbps, the same speed DSL subscribers pay just $13 for. For $50, customers can get 512 Kbps.

It may be considered aggressive pricing though, given that HughesNet offers its services for as low as $59.99 per month for 700 Kbps. The barrier is the installation however. Installation and equipment run HughesNet customers upwards of $600.

Neither company announced if AT&T’s Wildblue service would require installation and equipment costs, but Wildblue’s stand alone service currently offers a free installation promotion. Customers still have to foot the $299 equipment price.

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