Company type | Public |
---|---|
Industry | Communications |
Founded | May 1986 in Carlsbad, California, United States |
Headquarters | Carlsbad, California, U.S. |
Key people |
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Products |
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Services | |
Revenue | US$4.284 billion (2024) |
US$−890 million (2024) | |
US$−1.07 billion (2024) | |
Total assets | US$16.33 billion (2024) |
Total equity | US$5.025 billion (2024) |
Number of employees | c. 7,500 (2024) |
ASN | |
Website | viasat |
Footnotes /references Financials as of March 31,2024 [update] . [2] |
Viasat, Inc. (formerly stylized as ViaSat) is an American communications company based in Carlsbad, California, with additional operations across the United States and worldwide. Viasat is a provider of high-speed satellite broadband services and secure networking systems covering military and commercial markets. [3] [4] [5]
Viasat was co-founded in May 1986 by Mark Dankberg, Mark Miller and Steve Hart. [6] [7] [8] Mark Dankberg became chief executive officer and Mark Miller and Steve Hart became chief technical officers. [7] Viasat received venture capital financing of $300,000 from Southern California Ventures. [7] [8] In December 1996, Viasat had its initial public offering (IPO). [7] [6] In 1999, Viasat moved into its headquarters in Carlsbad, California. [9] Viasat launched a spin-off company, TrellisWare Technology, in 2000. The self-funded company focuses on developing communications and signal processing systems. [10]
The acquisition of the satellite networking business of Scientific-Atlanta for $75 million in cash in 2000 helped Viasat to focus on providing technology for interactive services to businesses. [11]
In 2001, Viasat started working with Boeing on Connexion broadband for airliners. [6] The company acquired Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunications' products unit, Comsat Laboratories in 2001 for an undisclosed amount. [7] [12] [13] Comsat Laboratories is Viasat's technology and product development group for communication systems focusing on developing new technologies for extremely bandwidth efficient, high data rate satellite transmission. [12] [13] [14] In 2001, Viasat also purchased US Monolithics, a company focused on designing high frequency broadband circuitry, for around $30 million. [7] [15] [16]
Eutelsat entered an agreement in 2001 to use Viasat's LinkStar high performance IP terminals for their broadband multimedia network over Ku-based FSS satellites. [17] Viasat entered a joint venture in 2001 with Loral Skynet to found Immeon Networks to develop the Immeon satellite bandwidth-on-demand service sold in monthly managed service plans. ABC News used Immeon to improve its voice and data-communications for on-location news. [18]
Viasat won a contract with WildBlue Communications worth $16 million in March 2001 to build WildBlue's satellite modems to support the company's initial service launch. [19] WildBlue signed a second contract with Viasat in 2001 for $17 million and Viasat would develop and produce satellite modem termination systems for six gateway stations. [20]
WildBlue launched its internet service in October 2004 after gaining Ka-band transponder capacity on the Telesat Anik F2 satellite. It conducted formal technical testing until January 2005, followed by nationwide beta testing before the first residential retail customers had services installed in June. [21] The WildBlue service was upgraded in 2007 using the satellite WildBlue-1, which launched the year before. [22]
In 2005, Viasat acquired Efficient Channel Coding, a producer of broadband communication integrated circuits and satellite communication systems, which gave Viasat access to the IPStar satellite broadband market. [23] [8] Enerdyne, a defense technology firm, was acquired by Viasat in 2006 for an initial investment of $17 million adding its EnerLinks II video data link equipment to Viasat's defense products. [24] [8]
Viasat acquired JAST Antenna Systems, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 2007. JAST develops microwave circuits and antennas for terrestrial and mobile satellite applications. [25]
On December 15, 2009, Viasat bought WildBlue, based in Colorado, for $568 million in cash and stock. Wildblue also brings its WildBlue-1 satellite and Ka-band capacity on Telesat's Anik F2 and about $75 million in cash and $45 million in tax losses, bringing the net purchase price to about $445 million. [26]
In 2010, Viasat bought Stonewood Group of Dorset, England, an encryption company, for $20 million in cash and stock. [27]
In January 2013, Viasat broke ground for its expansion in Duluth, Georgia, the second largest location after the company's headquarters in Carlsbad, California at the time.[ citation needed ] In 2015, Viasat opened a 116,000 square foot facility at the Arizona State University Research Park in Tempe, Arizona. [28] The Arizona campus focuses on design and manufacturing of advanced microwave communication and radar products, radio frequency systems and cybersecurity. [29] In 2016, Viasat announced a research and development facility in Chennai, India. [30] [31] In 2017, Viasat broke ground on an 80,000 square foot facility on the ATLAS property near the Texas A&M Health Science Center in Bryan, Texas. [32] [33]
Viasat also acquired LonoCloud, a company focused on cloud networking software, in 2013. [34] [35] [36]
In 2014, Viasat partnered with Thuraya Telecommunications, a mobile satellite services operator, to provide machine to machine (M2M) services. [37] The same year, Viasat entered a partnership with LightSquared to work on M2M services in vehicular and aviation devices. [38] [39] Viasat also teamed with Southern California Edison to provide an easy transition into operational networks. [40] NetNearU based in Bryan/College Station, Texas was acquired in 2014. Focused on government and enterprise customers, NetNearU has a wifi management system called TRACKOS, a cloud-based software. [41] [42] [43] ViaSat acquired Gray Labs, a company that specialized in satellite-to-earth communications for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in July 2014. [44]
Viasat acquired network virtualization company Engreen in 2015 to enhance its Flexible Broadband System. [45] [46] In March 2015, Viasat acquired EAI Design Services in order to add its Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) and Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) microprocessor design into satellite and cybersecurity projects. [47]
In 2016, Viasat acquired Arconics, an aviation software provider based in Dublin, Ireland. The company added 40 Arconics employees to its staff and expanded its software offerings as a result of the acquisition. [48]
In 2017, Viasat announced the intention to enter into a joint venture with the European satellite operator Eutelsat. [49] As part of the venture, the companies will jointly operate two new business entities with one owning and operating Eutelsat's KA-SAT satellite and wholesale broadband business and the other purchasing KA-SAT satellite-based capacity and marketing retail broadband internet services throughout Europe. Both businesses would be headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. [50] The companies aborted their joint venture plans in April 2018.
The company launched its third (previous satellites were ViaSat-1 and WildBlue-1) satellite, ViaSat-2 on June 1, 2017 [51] and ViaSat-3, a high-capacity three satellite constellation, is expected to launch first satellite in 2020. [52]
In December 2020, Viasat acquired RigNet, a secure managed networking solutions and specialized applications developer. [53] RigNet will be incorporated into Viasat's Global Enterprise and Mobility business unit, providing Viasat access to its digital transformation toolset, end-to-end managed communications, and connectivity service capabilities. [54]
In May 2021, Viasat appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit and requested a halt for SpaceX's ongoing launches of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites that power Starlink. Viasat alleged that the Federal Communications Commission's decision did not comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and said that SpaceX launches should be halted due to "environmental harms when satellites are taken out of orbit; light pollution that alters the night sky; [and] orbital debris." The FCC rejected these claims, and, on July 20, 2021, the judges ruled that SpaceX can keep launching broadband satellites. [55] [56] [57]
On November 8, 2021, Viasat announced a $7.3 billion deal to purchase Inmarsat for $850 million in cash, approximately 46 million shares of Viasat stock and assumption of $3.4 billion in debt. [58] Provisional approval for the merger was given by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority in March 2023 [59] with 25 May 2023 set as the date for a formal decision. [60] On May 31, 2023, the acquisition was completed. [61] [62]
On 3 October, 2022, Viasat and L3Harris announced that L3Harris would purchase Viasat's Tactical Data Link product line and network for $1.96 billion, consisting of Viasat's Link 16's terminals and networks. [63] On Jan 3rd, 2023, the acquisition was completed [64]
On 24 February, 2022, the day Russia invaded Ukraine, thousands of Viasat modems were disabled by a "deliberate ... cyber event" in what became known as the Viasat hack. Thousands of customers in Europe were without internet for at least a month. [65] On 31 March, 2022, SentinelOne researchers Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade and Max van Amerongen announced the discovery of a new wiper malware codenamed AcidRain designed to permanently disable routers. [66] Viasat later confirmed that the AcidRain malware was used during the 'cyber event'. [67] AcidRain shares code with VPNFilter, a 2018 cyber operation against routers attributed to the Russian military by the FBI. [68] On 10 May, 2022, the European Union condemned the attack targeting Viasat's KA-SAT network as a Russian operation. [69]
In May 2019, UK politician Priti Patel, shortly before her appointment as Home Secretary, began working for Viasat as a strategic adviser on a salary of £5,000 a month for five hours' work a month without seeking prior approval from the government's Advisory Committee on Business Appointments. This led to accusations that she had broken the ministerial code for a second time. [70]
In July 2013, Viasat was licensed by the Federal Communications Commission for Ka-band aeronautical earth stations. [71] Viasat operates resources on four satellites: ViaSat-1, WildBlue1, Anik-F2 and ViaSat-2. [72]
The ViaSat-3 constellation is expected to be in service by 2022. [83] In addition, there is a contract for a SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch for another ViaSat-3 class satellite, as well as a third satellite to be launched by United Launch Alliance within a similar timeframe. [52] [84]
Launched in 2012 under the Exede name, Viasat Internet is a broadband internet service that covers areas traditional terrestrial internet service providers do not reach. [85] [86] In 2013, the Voice home service was introduced as a companion to the data service. [87] [88] [89] The company also distributes a business internet, initially called Exede Business, which was launched in 2014. [88] [90]
Viasat's Exede Internet is powered by Viasat's ViaSat-1 satellite. [91] [92] [93] [94] The satellite was announced in 2008. Designed by Viasat and manufactured by Space Systems/Loral in Palo Alto, California, the satellite was completed in 2011. [95] It was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan in October 2011 using a Proton Breeze M rocket. The satellite has a geostationary orbit over North America at 115.1° West longitude. ViaSat-1 has 72 spot beams. [96] The satellite has 63 beams covering the continental USA and Hawaii, and 9 covering Canada through the Xplornet service. [97] The satellite weighs 6,740 kg [98] and has a 15-year operational life. [96] ViaSat-1 cost $400 million to produce and launch. [99] ViaSat-2, which launched in June 2017, expands the capacity and coverage of the Viasat Internet service. [100] [101] [102]
Initially the satellite broadband internet was launched as a response to the lack of coverage provided by terrestrial services. [94] The 12 Mbit/s service was faster than earlier satellite internet access options such as WildBlue which could reach 1.5 Mbit/s. In 2016, a 25 Mbit/s download speed was introduced in some areas, as well as a new modem supporting the new speed tier that includes an integrated Wi-Fi router and VoIP adapter. [103] In 2017, Viasat sunsetted the name Exede and rebranded as Viasat Internet. [104] [105]
The internet service covers most of the continental U.S. and Hawaii. [92] [106] Between 2012 and 2015, the Federal Communications Commission has reported that Viasat's Exede Internet met or surpassed advertised speeds. In the 2015 report, download speeds were just over 100% of advertised, while upload speeds topped 150% of advertised speeds. [107]
The long distance to the geosynchronous orbit used by Viasat has a latency of over 600 ms, over 10 times more than terrestrial or low Earth orbit systems like Starlink, rendering it much less competitive for applications like videoconferencing and video gaming. [108]
Viasat Internet likewise offers voice over IP residential phone service with its Viasat Voice Services. [92] DirecTV is one of the major retailers that offers Viasat Internet to its customers. [109] Dish Network resells the Viasat Internet service and other internet services under its own DishNet brand name. [110]
In December 2013, Viasat launched its in-flight WiFi service on JetBlue. [111] The fleet contained 190 aircraft using the service in 2014, [112] and 420 in November 2015. [113] The company has since expanded the service to other airlines including United Airlines, American Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, Delta, El Al, Aeroméxico, JetBlue, and Qantas. [114] [115] [116] [117] [118] [119] [ better source needed ] The dual-band technology allows airlines to offer connectivity to over 150 customers at a time per plane. [120]
In 2017, Viasat established a commercial agreement with Grupo Prosperist, a telecommunications service provider in Mexico, to deploy the Community Wi-Fi service. Community Wi-Fi utilizes a centralized hotspot in order to connect to a Viasat satellite and deliver affordable internet service to remote communities in Mexico. By 2019, Community Wi-Fi was now accessible to over one million people throughout Mexico. [121] Facebook also began investing in Community Wi-Fi in 2019 to continue providing high-speed, satellite-powered internet to rural locations across the world. [122] [123]
In July 2020, Viasat launched a high-speed residential internet service for Brazil, using bandwidth from the Telebras SGDC-1 satellite. Its minimal infrastructure Wi-Fi service reached across eight states, including São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Pernambuco, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Federal District, and Amazonas. [124]
Eclypt hard drives and external USB drives produced by Viasat are encrypted to ensure that data stored cannot be retrieved if a computer or storage device is stolen. Eclypt drives are used by governments, military forces, and law enforcement agencies. [125]
Viasat Critical Infrastructure Security was introduced in 2013, designed to stop security breaches and monitor operation of grid networks using real-time intelligence. [126] The process adds encrypted sensors to the critical national infrastructure networks and monitors all abnormal activity through a security operations center. [127] Viasat is working in conjunction with Southern California Edison to enhance their critical infrastructure security systems through a funding from the U.S. Department of Energy meant to improve protection of the nation's electric grid and oil and gas infrastructure from cyber-attack. [128] [129]
Viasat also offers mobile two-way satellite broadband services to the United States Government. [130] Tactical communications for the US military involves tactical data, information assurance, and satellite communications. Tactical data links provide secure networking for voice and data. Information assurance for encryption devices allow for the transfer of classified data across public networks. Satellite communications give real-time intelligence for command and control functions. [131] The US government uses ArcLight technology over a managed private network that operates on Ku-band satellite links and can use the Yonder global satellite network as well. [71] The worldwide satellite broadband access that Viasat offers allows for airborne mobile broadband for en route communications. The company has an airborne mobility program for C-17 jets and encrypts the satellite to hub link connections for the government. [132] Viasat's Satellite Access Manager (SAM) supports Department of Defense missions through airborne intelligence for surveillance and reconnaissance operations. SAM increases bandwidth utilization and efficiency through real-time network monitoring systems for the ArcLight2 broadband terminals. [133]
A very-small-aperture terminal (VSAT) is a two-way satellite ground station with a dish antenna that is smaller than 3.8 meters. The majority of VSAT antennas range from 75 cm to 1.2 m. Bit rates, in most cases, range from 4 kbit/s up to 16 Mbit/s. VSATs access satellites in geosynchronous orbit or geostationary orbit to relay data from small remote Earth stations (terminals) to other terminals or master Earth station "hubs".
The S band is a designation by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for a part of the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum covering frequencies from 2 to 4 gigahertz (GHz). Thus it crosses the conventional boundary between the UHF and SHF bands at 3.0 GHz. The S band is used by airport surveillance radar for air traffic control, weather radar, surface ship radar, and some communications satellites, particularly satellites used by NASA to communicate with the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. The 10 cm radar short-band ranges roughly from 1.55 to 5.2 GHz. India's regional satellite navigation network (IRNSS) broadcasts on 2.483778 to 2.500278 GHz.
Satellite Internet access is Internet access provided through communication satellites; if it can sustain high speeds, it is termed satellite broadband. Modern consumer grade satellite Internet service is typically provided to individual users through geostationary satellites that can offer relatively high data speeds, with newer satellites using the Ku band to achieve downstream data speeds up to 506 Mbit/s. In addition, new satellite internet constellations are being developed in low-earth orbit to enable low-latency internet access from space.
Eutelsat S.A. is a French satellite operator. Providing coverage over the entire European continent, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas, it is the world's third-largest satellite operator in terms of revenues.
SES S.A., trading as SES is a Luxembourgish satellite telecommunications network provider supplying video and data connectivity worldwide to broadcasters, content and internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators, governments and institutions.
Inmarsat is a British satellite telecommunications company, offering global mobile services. It provides telephone and data services to users worldwide, via portable or mobile terminals which communicate with ground stations through fifteen geostationary telecommunications satellites.
Hughes Network Systems, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar. It is headquartered in Germantown, Maryland and provides satellite internet service. HughesNet has over a million subscribers in the Americas in late 2023, down from 1.4 million in early 2022.
Serbia Broadband is a cable television and broadband internet service provider in Serbia. The SBB company operates as part of the United Group, leading media and telecommunication operator in Southeastern Europe. The company is based in the "Telepark" business complex in Belgrade, which includes data center covering 750 square meters of floor space and divided into 20 server halls and technical support areas.
O3b Networks Ltd. was a network communications service provider building and operating a medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellite constellation primarily intended to provide voice and data communications to mobile operators and Internet service providers. O3b Networks became a wholly owned subsidiary of SES in 2016 and the operator name was subsequently dropped in favour of SES Networks, a division of SES. The satellites themselves, now part of the SES fleet, continue to use the O3b name.
O3b is a satellite constellation in Medium Earth orbit (MEO) owned and operated by SES, and designed to provide low-latency broadband connectivity to remote locations for mobile network operators and internet service providers, maritime, aviation, and government and defence. It is often referred to as O3b MEO to distinguish these satellites from SES's O3b mPOWER constellation.
Tooway is a satellite broadband Internet service available across Europe. The first version of the service was launched in 2007 via two Eutelsat geostationary satellites, Hot Bird 6 and Eurobird 3, respectively at the 13° and 33° East orbital positions.
KA-SAT is a high-throughput geostationary telecommunications satellite owned by Viasat. The satellite provides bidirectional broadband Internet access services across Europe and a small area of the Middle East, and additionally the Saorsat TV service to Ireland. It is positioned at 9°E, joining the Eurobird 9A Ku band satellite. KA-SAT was manufactured by EADS Astrium, based on the Eurostar E3000 platform, with a total weight of 6 tons. It was launched by Proton in December 2010. The satellite is named after the Ka band frequency, which is used on the spacecraft.
ViaSat-1 is a high throughput communications satellite owned by Viasat Inc. and Telesat Canada. Launched October 19, 2011 aboard a Proton rocket, it held the Guinness record for the world's highest capacity communications satellite with a total capacity in excess of 140 Gbit/s, more than all the satellites covering North America combined, at the time of its launch.
Cosmote TV is the corporate name for two pay television services in Greece, owned by Greek telecommunication operator OTE. The two services are as follows:
High-throughput satellite (HTS) is a communications satellite that provides more throughput than a classic FSS satellite for the same amount of allocated orbital spectrum, thus significantly reducing cost-per-bit. ViaSat-1 and EchoStar XVII do provide more than 100 Gbit/s of capacity, which is more than 100 times the capacity offered by a conventional FSS satellite. When it was launched in October 2011 ViaSat-1 had more capacity (140 Gbit/s) than all other commercial communications satellites over North America combined.
Eutelsat OneWeb is a subsidiary of Eutelsat Group providing broadband satellite Internet services in low Earth orbit (LEO). The company is headquartered in London, and has offices in Virginia, US and a satellite manufacturing facility in Florida – Airbus OneWeb Satellites – that is a joint venture with Airbus Defence and Space.
ViaSat-2 is a commercial communications satellite launched June 1, 2017 and went live late February 2018. It was advertised to be the world's highest capacity communications satellite with a throughput of 300 Gbit/s, exceeding that of HughesNet EchoStar XIX, which launched in December 2016. It is the second Ka-band satellite launched by ViaSat after ViaSat-1. The satellite provides internet service through ViaSat to North America, parts of South America, including Mexico and the Caribbean, and to air and maritime routes across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe.
United Group is an alternative telecom provider in Southeast Europe that operates both telecommunications platforms and mass media outlets.
Bigblu Broadband, formerly Satellite Solutions Worldwide Group plc, is a UK-based provider of broadband services to rural homes and businesses across Europe.
ViaSat-3 is a planned global constellation of three geostationary Ka-band communications satellites, the first of which was launched in 2023. Operated by Viasat, Inc., the satellites are intended to provide broadband connectivity with speeds of 100-plus megabits per second to homes, business and enterprise internet users, commercial, government and business aircraft, as well as government and defense markets, maritime and oceanic enterprises in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific.
25 May 2023: Revised statutory deadline following extension
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