Viasat steps toward global coverage with launch of 1-terabit satellite

Viasat’s plans to provide global broadband coverage took a step forward Sunday night with the launch of the first of three high-capacity ViaSat-3 satellites.

The ViaSat-3 Americas satellite launched Sunday night from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The satellite is set to deploy its solar arrays and make its way to its final orbital location (88.9 degrees west longitude) – a journey that’s expected to take less than three weeks.

Viasat said the satellite is on target for a service launch by mid-2023, with details about new residential and business services plans to follow. The Boeing-made, Ka-band-based ViaSat-3 satellite will pack around 1 Tbit/s of capacity and is expected to deliver download speeds in excess of 100 Mbit/s to individual customers.

Viasat currently offers a range of speed plans for its fixed satellite broadband service. Last year, it launched a handful of “New Choice” residential service plans starting at 25 Mbit/s downstream on up to a high-end tier that delivers up to 150 Mbit/s downstream and about 3 Mbit/s upstream.

The first ViaSat-3 satellite will provide coverage to the Americas. Future ViaSat-3 satellites are poised to provide coverage to the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) regions. Combined, they’ll provide “near global coverage for land, air and sea,” the company said. Viasat has been asked for an update on the planned launch timing on the other two ViaSat-3 satellites.

Opening up capacity for home satellite broadband

Viasat’s residential subscriber business has been in a holding pattern as it used available satellite broadband capacity to fuel its growing in-flight connectivity business. The launch of ViaSat-3 will provide more capacity and enable the company to focus again on the growth of its residential, fixed broadband business.

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