The rocket carrying the WINDS satellite -- a joint project of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) & Mitsubishi Heavy Industries -- lifted off its pad at Japan's Yoshinobu Launch Complex at the Tanegashima Space Center, CNN reports.

If the technology proves successful, subscribers with small dishes will connect to the Internet at speeds many times faster than what is now available over residential cable or DSL services (up to 1.2 gigabytes per second)

The service initially would focus on the Asia-Pacific region close to Japan, a JAXA news release said.

"Among other uses, this will make possible great advances in telemedicine, which will bring high-quality medical treatment to remote areas, and in distance education, connecting students and teachers separated by great distances," JAXA said.

You can read more about the WINDS satellite at Space Daily.