ViaSat Inc. (Nasdaq:VSAT) will demonstrate its next generation satellite
broadband service with the highest speeds at the most affordable prices
ever offered by the platform, at Satellite 2009, March 24th
thru 27th in Washington, DC. The demonstration will showcase
what ViaSat believes should be the "benchmark” based on the quality and
speed of broadband services called for by the Government broadband
stimulus initiative.
With plans to launch in 22 months, ViaSat-1 is a next generation Ka-band
broadband satellite that is designed to be the highest capacity payload
ever launched into space. ViaSat-1 is expected to have more capacity
than the combination of all other satellites in operation over the
United States. Once operational, ViaSat-1 will offer 2-10 Mbps, or
higher, download speeds at retail prices competitive with comparable
terrestrial services. ViaSat-1 is the first of a new class of high
capacity satellites anticipated to play an important role in the
administration’s drive to stimulate the deployment and adoption of
Internet broadband in unserved and underserved areas of the U.S.
"Having provided broadband equipment to over half a million unserved
customers in North America, we have been focused on reaching this
community for over a decade. We have the history and appreciation for
the needs and challenges in delivering broadband to these people
efficiently, wherever they are,” said Mark Dankberg, CEO and chairman of
ViaSat. "Our next generation technology demonstration, delivering speeds
of 5Mbps on average, is proof that a satellite service, with the
appropriate speed and bandwidth allocation, is actually better than most
existing terrestrial broadband services – especially DSL and wireless.
For the first time, satellite can support large video downloads,
streaming HD, media rich Web sites, good quality VoIP, video chat, and
gaming. With so much bandwidth available on our satellite we can relieve
the congestion that clogs existing satellite services – and deliver
surprising speed and responsiveness. Many telecom providers are arguing
that it is impossible to provide these speeds of service to the unserved
and rural communities. We’re putting that fallacy to rest this week with
this demonstration. Plus, our satellite service will be an open network
platform – enabling a range of competitive retail service providers and
offerings everywhere it reaches.”
Tom Moore, SVP of ViaSat and president of ViaSat Satellite Holdings,
added, "The U.S. is lagging France, Japan, Korea, and other countries in
terms of Internet speeds. At a minimum, it seems to us that broadband
providers that receive government subsidies need to be held accountable
for some minimum quality of service. The ongoing policy should focus on
an appropriate definition of service levels that will be available to
everyone in the U.S. in 2011, not the technology platforms. Regulating
the means, instead of the desired end result, is more likely to inhibit
innovation. Without straightforward quality metrics of speed and
bandwidth allocation per user it will be impossible to determine any
measure of effectiveness of the $7 billion infrastructure capital
investments the government is about to make.”
The demonstration will take place at ViaSat booth #429. ViaSat is also
participating on several conference panels and keynote speeches at
Satellite 2009, including:
-
IP Protocol in Space (Tuesday, March 24th,
10:30-11:45am)
-
Kristi Jaska, Vice President of Strategy
-
CEO Roundtable: Managing Growth in Uncertain Times (Tuesday,
March 24th, 4:15-5:30pm)
-
Mark Dankberg, Chairman and CEO
-
How Fast is too Fast? Betting the Ranch on Technology Adoption
(Wednesday, March 25th, 3-4:15pm)
-
Tom Moore, President, ViaSat Satellite Holdings
-
Comms-on-the-Move - Mobility and Portability (Thursday, March 26th,
10:15-11:30am)
-
Ric VanderMeulen, Vice President, Government Satcom Systems
-
Satellite Services Enabling Broadband on the Move (Thursday,
March 26th, 10:15-11:30am)
-
Bill Sullivan, Director of Strategy, Mobile Broadband Systems
-
Satellite Broadband: Finally a Ka-band Competitive Force?
(Friday, March 27th, 9-10:30am)
-
Mark Dankberg, Chairman and CEO
About ViaSat (www.viasat.com)
ViaSat produces innovative satellite and other digital communication
products that enable fast, secure, and efficient communications to any
location. The company provides networking products and managed network
services for enterprise IP applications; is a key supplier of
network-centric military communications and encryption technologies to
the U.S. government; and is the primary technology partner for gateway
and customer premises equipment for consumer and mobile satellite
broadband services. The company owns five subsidiaries: US Monolithics,
Efficient Channel Coding, Enerdyne Technologies, Intelligent Compression
Technologies, and JAST. These companies design and produce complementary
products such as monolithic microwave integrated circuits, DVB-S2
satellite communication components, video data link systems, data
acceleration and compression products, and mobile satellite antenna
systems. ViaSat has locations in Carlsbad, CA, and Duluth, GA, along
with its Comsat Laboratories division in Germantown, MD. Additional
field offices are located in Boston, MA, Baltimore, MD, Washington DC,
Australia, China, India, Italy, and Spain.
Safe Harbor Statement
Portions of this release, particularly statements about the performance
and deliveries of ViaSat products and technology, may contain
forward-looking statements regarding future events and are subject to
risks and uncertainties. ViaSat wishes to caution you that there are
some factors that could cause actual results to differ materially,
including but not limited to: contractual problems, product defects,
manufacturing issues or delays, regulatory issues, technologies not
being developed according to anticipated schedules, or that do not
perform according to expectations; and increased competition and other
factors affecting the telecommunications industry generally. In
addition, please refer to the risk factors contained in ViaSat’s SEC
filings available at www.sec.gov,
including without limitation, ViaSat’s annual reports on Form 10-K and
ViaSat’s quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Readers are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only
as of the date on which they are made. ViaSat undertakes no obligation
to update or revise any forward-looking statements for any reason.
Comsat Labs and Comsat Laboratories are tradenames of ViaSat, Inc.
Neither Comsat Labs nor Comsat Laboratories is affiliated with COMSAT
Corporation. "Comsat” is a registered trademark of COMSAT Corporation.