Boeing has delivered to Florida what it describes as the “most powerful” satellite platform it has ever built in the shape of ViaSat-3 Americas, a new-generation craft for operator Viasat of California. It will be able to harness well over 30 kW of solar power when it reaches orbit. That’s 1/4+ of the power generated […]

Satellite operator Viasat used the Washington Satellite 2023 show to announce it had secured orders from Delta Airlines for further expansion of Delta’s in-flight communications systems on its aircraft. Viasat says it will now be connecting a total of more than 1,000 aircraft including widebody fleets, and all active aircraft in its Airbus A330, Airbus […]

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally cleared the proposed merger between Viasat and Inmarsat following an in-depth review which revealed the business would likely face significant competition from both emerging and established players as the sector expands. While Viasat and Inmarsat compete closely, the merged company would be challenged by new competitor […]

Satellite Communications (SatCom) has entered a period of renewed interest with innovative technological advances, mainly driven by ballooning investment dollars in the high-growth space tech segment and the demand for global connectivity. The SatCom ecosystem has two segments: ground equipment and space. Global technology intelligence firm ABI Research foresees sustained ground segment growth from the […]

California-based satellite operator Viasat has suffered a negative report from Quilty Analytics. The analysts point out to clients that Viasat has “dialled back” guidance for 2023, not helped by delays to the launch of the first of its latest trio of sophisticated satellites. Quilty says: “For the second consecutive quarter, shares of Viasat sold off […]

Viasat’s $7.3 billion attempt to acquire London-based Inmarsat has hit a potential problem following an “in-depth” investigation by the a European Commission (EC), which says it is “concerned that the transaction may allow Viasat to reduce competition in the market for the supply of broadband in-flight connectivity (IFC) services to commercial airlines”. The Viasat/Inmarsat deal, […]

For the past few years, London-based Inmarsat has planned to build its own low Earth orbiting mega-constellation, called ‘Orchestra’. It has now emerged that the scheme has probably been cancelled. Larry Paul, Inmarsat VP/corporate business development, speaking at the Smallsat Symposium in California, told delegates that Inmarsat had taken a hard look [at the concept] […]

In post-results comments to market analysts, Viasat’s chairman Mark Dankberg said the combination of its expanding ViaSat-3 ‘next generation’ satellites, plus the L-band services from Inmarsat (which it is in the process of acquiring) would equal the sort of rival satellite-based offerings from the likes of SpaceX/T-Mobile, Apple/Globalstar, Iridium/Qualcomm, Lynk Global and AST SpaceMobile. All […]

Viasat says its first ‘next-generation’ ViaSat-3 satellite will launch on around April 8th on a SpaceX rocket. Chairman Mark Dankberg told shareholders: “The ViaSat-3 system is intended to enable a substantial leap in space and ground technology – designed to deliver far more bandwidth per unit of capital, over very large coverage areas, with dynamic […]

Middle East airline Emirates has placed a major contract extension with Inmarsat for the satellite operator’s In-Flight Communications (IFC) broadband service. Emirates already uses Inmarsat but this new contract covers the airline’s 50 new Airbus A350 aircraft. They will enter service from 2024. The A350 aircraft will use Inmarsat’s Global Xpress (GX) satellite network. Inmarsat’s […]