"The European Commission has paid lip service to the notion of mixed technologies but the debate is largely dominated by getting high Internet speeds," Holla told EurActiv.
The Commission has said it wants 50% of the EU to have speeds of 30 MBs by 2013 and 100 MBs by 2020.
The EU and the US are both feeling the heat coming from Asia's dominant connectivity to the Internet, and are investing heavily to catch up with their eastern competitors.
The long-standing argument against satellite has been that it is slower but Holla insists the EU has room for a mixture of different technologies.
History has shown that a fixation on speed via land-based fibre networks could drain public authorities of valuable resources that would be better spent elsewhere, Holla said, citing an Italian village that spent €40,000 on 10 new masts to improve the terrestrial signal strength.
The new services attracted only 150 new subscribers, according to Holla, which means that "the real cost per person was nearly €270, or something like that, if you divide 40,000 by 150".
"The question really is: what are the services that they believe would require 100 MBs? It's all a little detached from reality," she added.
ESOA is one of many lobbyists vying for a slice of the spectrum earmarked to emerge from broadcasters' switchover from analogue to digital frequencies, the so-called 'digital dividend' (EurActiv 05/03/10).
"We are not competing with terrestrial networks, we are complementary," Holla insisted, saying that flat areas are better suited to WiFi and Wimax, while satellite is better in mountainous areas.
On balance, it appears that terrestrial broadband is cheaper than satellite.
In 2008 the average monthly subscription fell to €37 a month compared to €52 a month in 2007, according to figures from the European Commission.
An antenna and a set top-modem can cost anywhere from €250-500 with a monthly subscription rate of €39 to boot.
"But we can go where others can't," Holla insisted.
The Obama administration in the US also appears to have recognised this maxim and has announced $100 million in subsidies for satellite services.
EU projects exploring satellite's usefulness also concluded that terrestrial network capacity can be saved by exploiting the advantages of satellite technology.
The Commission is currently exploring its options for wider broadband coverage across the bloc and says it supports a technologically neutral solution.
According to a Commission official, the EU executive has had informal discussions with satellite operators' representatives about the possibility of offering connections above 30Mbps in the future.
"The contribution of satellite technologies will be determined by market forces and regulated by the Regulatory Framework for eCommunications and by EU competition rules," the official added.
To read the interview with Holla in full, please click here.
