ViaSat confirmed that it has been granted a Blanket License Radio Station Authorization by the FCC for Ka-band aeronautical earth stations, enabling it to deliver airborne Ka-band services over all 50 U.S. states.
The 15-year, renewable license permits operation of the ViaSat Mantarray, low-profile airborne antenna on the ViaSat Ka-band satellite fleet of ViaSat-1, WildBlue-1, and Anik-F2.
“This is the first license of its kind in the world,” said Mark Dankberg, ViaSat chairman and CEO. “We’re gratified to see the FCC recognizing that the advanced technical design of this equipment is compatible with the operating environment in which our other Exede services successfully operate. Now airlines, and their passengers, will have access to an unprecedented amount of bandwidth. We want to let everyone on board be connected at high speed.”
ViaSat is preparing to launch its “Exede In The Air” in-flight broadband service this fall with initial availability on the U.S. fleets of JetBlue Airways and one other major airline. Approximately 400 aircraft are already under contract to receive the service.
ViaSat also initiated work with the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) two years ago that led to a related Electronic Communication Committee decision in March, allowing mobile earth station operation – including in the Ka-band – in participating countries in Europe.
The service will be powered by ViaSat-1, which holds the title of the World’s Highest Capacity Communications Satellite to date with 134 Gbps of total throughput capacity.
http://www.viasat.com
