ViaSat and Eutelsat team up for Ka-band coverage

Viasat-1 and Ka-Sat’s footprints

Satellite providers ViaSat and Eutelsat have teamed up to link their Ka-band networks and provide roaming ability between North America and Europe.

The agreement will enable service access and roaming on each other’s high-capacity satellite networks, based on the Ka-Sat satellite for Eutelsat and ViaSat-1 for ViaSat. Both Ka-band networks, which the pair say represent well over half of all Ka-band capacity in orbit worldwide, share the same high-capacity satellite ecosystem, enabled by the ViaSat Broadband System, along with other ground infrastructure owned and operated by Eutelsat and ViaSat.

The deal will enable users to operate an array of fixed and mobile services including in-flight connectivity, maritime, emergency relief, oil and gas operations and government applications anywhere within the combined coverage areas, according to the pair.

The agreement will extend to future satellites including ViaSat-2, scheduled for launch in 2016, which is designed to cover a broader footprint in North America, Central America, the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean and to bridge the North Atlantic to form a footprint of high-capacity coverage across the region.

Michel de Rosen, Eutelsat 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.”