Broadband services company ViaSat has launched the ViaSat-3 ultra-high capacity satellite platform to provide high-speed and high-quality internet and video streaming globally.
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“The first two satellites will deliver more than twice the total network capacity of the approximately 400 commercial communications satellites in space today – combined“, states the company. The satellites will be capable of 1 terabit speeds each (that’s 1,000 gigabits per second). Its innovations in designing highest-capacity satellites and secure ground infrastructure and terminal technologies coupled with its worldwide network of managed Wi-Fi hotspots enable ViaSat to deliver a best available network that extends the reach and accessibility of broadband internet service, globally.
Eutelsat and ViaSat have announced that they’re partnering up in a joint satellite venture, and ViaSat has further revealed its intention to kick-off the ViaSat-3 “ultra-high capacity satellite platform”.
According to ViaSat, work on two of the three satellites has already begun, and they will launch by the end of 2019.
Ultimately, the ViaSat-3 satellite project sets out to offer affordable wireless internet connections to billions of people, including those in emerging markets, many of whom now don’t have access to such services.
Those first two satellites will cover the Americas and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), while a third is also planned for the Asia Pacific Region.
ViaSat, a US-based satellite company, has teamed up with Boeing to build three new satellites that will provide high-speed Internet to remote areas around the world. Viasat will acquire a 49 percent interest in the wholesale business for 132.5M Euros; the retail services business will be 51 owne by Viasat and 49 percent owned by Eutelsat.
Completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, and is now expected to close during the second quarter of 2016.
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Mark Dankberg, chairman and CEO of ViaSat, commented: “The joint venture combines an unprecedented collection of expertise in satellite operations and technology, broadband networks, and wholesale and retail distribution throughout Europe that forms the foundation for next-generation internet services”.
