ViaSat and Boeing are teaming up to offer an integrated space/ground system for Service Providers that promises lower cost per bit and more flexibility.
The companies said next-generation RF Satellite Access Nodes, with an overall footprint size similar to cellular wireless towers, can effectively compete with terrestrial service alternatives for regional operators.
“The advantage of using geostationary satellites to spread broadband availability worldwide is the ability to focus capacity to where it is needed, rather than blanket the entire globe with a thin layer of capacity regardless of population density or demand,” said Mark Dankberg, ViaSat chairman and CEO. “Our new system will add another dimension to that capability, with a networking system that can quickly shift or add capacity to markets where demand begins to grow or change.”
“The blending of technologies – a high throughput payload with the economic efficiency of the Boeing all-electric propulsion 702SP satellite – provides the lowest cost per bit of capacity,” said Mark Spiwak, president of Boeing Satellite Systems International, Inc. “The joint product offering between Boeing and ViaSat helps address a market need for regional operators.”
The ViaSat Flexible Broadband System is based on the most advanced ViaSat High-Capacity Satellite System, the same flexible networking system developed for the ViaSat-2 satellite scheduled to launch next year. ViaSat and Boeing are also adapting a ViaSat-2 based payload to the Boeing 702SP (small platform) satellite bus to provide affordable and flexible satellite broadband anywhere in the world.
- Earlier this year, SpaceX was selected to launch ViaSat’s next generation, high-capacity broadband satellite (ViaSat-2) in late summer 2016 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. ViaSat-2, which is currently under construction by Boeing, will cover seven times the geographic area and offer twice the bandwidth economics advantage of ViaSat-1. Planned coverage includes North America, Central America, and the Caribbean basin. The satellite will also provide a bridge of coverage across the North Atlantic, connecting North America with high-capacity coverage in the UK and Europe for high-speed in-flight internet and other mobile services.
