Eutelsat and ViaSat have agreed a first-of-a-kind deal to enable roaming across their respective high throughput satellites covering Europe and North America.
Paris-based Eutelsat’s Ka-Sat at 13E already leverages on the networking technology that…
Eutelsat and ViaSat have agreed a first-of-a-kind deal to enable roaming across their respective high throughput satellites covering Europe and North America.
Paris-based Eutelsat’s Ka-Sat at 13E already leverages on the networking technology that supports the Californian operator’s ViaSat-1 at 115W. Their deal brings the two operators even closer together and includes provisions for future satellites, including ViaSat’s next HTS bird that is due to launch in 2016.
ViaSat-1 and Ka-Sat represent more than half of all the Ka-band capacity currently in orbit. The companies said their tie-up will provide significant advantages for customers in their combined coverage areas, which also includes the Mediterranean Basin, such as those in-flight connectivity, maritime, emergency relief, oil and gas operations, as well as government applications.
Michel de Rosen, Eutelsat’s chairman and CEO, said: “Working with ViaSat, we can extend to North America the high quality of service we already provide clients in Europe through Ka-Sat, and bridge the two satellite systems with the addition of ViaSat-2.
“We believe this feature will be a real plus for companies providing mobile services and who need to move around user equipment from region to region.”
ViaSat-2 is being built by Boeing to cover a broader footprint across the Americas and the North Atlantic Ocean.
Mark Dankberg, ViaSat’s chairman and CEO, said: “This formalises another step towards covering the high traffic areas of the world with the fastest, most affordable mobile broadband satellite connectivity
“Extending our long-standing relationship with Eutelsat enables us to provide the fastest in-flight Wi-Fi available on both sides of the Atlantic.”
ViaSat-1, which was launched in 2011, is meanwhile at the centre of a legal dispute that ViaSat has with its manufacturer Space Systems Loral.
The US operator won a patent infringement lawsuit against SSL earlier this year over similarities between ViaSat-1 and HTS birds that the manufacturer has built for other operators. It is now seeking an injunction that could ban SSL from building certain HTS spacecraft.
Ka-Sat, built by Airbus DS and launched in 2010, is the European equivalent of ViaSat-1 and was Eutelsat’s first satellite to operate exclusively in Ka-band frequencies.
