ViaSat taps Boeing to build new super-satellite scheduled for launch in 2016
by Kevin Fitchard
GigaOm.com
MAY. 16, 2013 - 3:14 PM PDT
http://gigaom.com/2013/05/16/viasat-taps-boeing-to-build-new-super-satellite-scheduled-for-launch-in-2016/
SUMMARY: ViaSat-1 went up about 18 months ago, but the satellite
broadband company is already planning its next-generation bird,
ViaSat-2. The high-Earth orbiter will far exceed Via-Sat-1's already
impressive 140 Gbps of total capacity.
Satellite broadband provider ViaSat has selected Boeing to develop and
build its new geostationary orbiter, a satellite that will put even the
impressive might of its recently launched ViaSat-1 to shame. The two
companies said they will jointly design and build the new satellite and
are planning to launch it into high-Earth orbit in mid-2016.
ViaSat-1 has already won numerous praise as satellite marvel, boasting a
total capacity of 140 Gbps, which it uses to provide its Exede broadband
service in remote and rural areas in the U.S. as well as to supply
internet connectivity to JetBlue airplanes. The new satellite, aptly
named ViaSat-2, is expected to double ViaSat-1’s capacity and greatly
expand the provider’s coverage in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean and
Central America (ViaSat-1’s beams today skip over large parts of the
Rocky Mountains and Western Great Plains).
The satellite hasn’t been without controversy, though, as ViaSat is
switching out suppliers. Space Systems/Loral built ViaSat-1, but the two
became embroiled in litigation after ViaSat accused the aerospace
company of absconding with its intellectual property when it built a
competing satellite for Hughes Network Systems.
That satellite became EchoStar 17, doesn’t have quite the capacity of
ViaSat-1, but Hughes is using it to go head to head with ViaSat in the
rural broadband market. Its Gen4 service offers speeds of 10-15 Mbps to
customers, while ViaSat’s Exede service clocks in at about 12 Mbps.
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