ViaSat aims for 5TB of throughput
April 8, 2022
By Chris Forrester
ViaSat is currently testing its next satellite – its first ViaSat-3 craft, and part of a three-satellite geostationary broadband constellation. It is due to launch later this summer and should supply 1TB/second of throughput. It will launch on a SpaceX rocket.
ViaSat is also in the process of acquiring Inmarsat and ViaSat’s executive chairman, Mark Dankberg spoke about both elements in a panel discussion at the recent Satellite 2022 event in Washington.
He said that ground testing within the Thermal Vacuum chamber of the ViaSat-3 satellite was going well. Dankberg said: “It looks like [we will get to 1TB] but only in-orbit testing would prove the capacity. We are so confident that we are already working on next-generation satellites and where we think we can achieve in the order of 5TB of throughput from a single satellite. We are planning to be able to aim that capacity where it is most in demand.”
Dankberg also spoke about the appeal of Inmarsat’s L-band spectrum. L-band, he said, allowed for satellite-based connectivity direct to a cellphone. He explained that the main obstacle affecting the technology was getting the right chip-sets into the phones. Dankberg said that ViaSat was “very excited” about the prospects for developing Inmarsat’s L-band frequencies.