Following up on its agreement with LEO broadband network OneWeb, Viasat is in talks with other LEO providers to support hybrid multi-orbit services that are expected to improve service and support low latency applications. “We’re working with almost all NGSOs [non-geostationary satellite operators], mixing and matching as appropriate, based on the deals,” Mark Dankberg, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Viasat, Inc., said on a recent earnings call.
Viasat expects to continue integrating hybrid multi-orbit satellite services into all of its enterprise mobility services. Through its fleet of organic and partner satellites, and the dynamic beam-forming, on-orbit resources and capex synergies will provide increased value, according to the company.
In the next fiscal year, Viasat plans to introduce the first scalable commercial 3GPP cellular standards-based on direct to phone service on five continents, using its existing L-band network, and partnering with like minded mobile satellite services operators. “We’re working with the Mobile Satellite Services Association to promote a mobile satellite services ecosystem offering the greatest amount of license satellite spectrum,” Dankberg said.
Geostationary satellite providers are moving from providing expensive niche services to “broadbased, affordable” services to better compete with new entrants into the satellite segment, SAS President/CEO Steve Collar predicted back in 2020. SES has used a multi-orbit model, integrating its legacy GEO satellites and Medium-Earth Orbit constellation for six years.
Space News announced the “dawn of the multi-orbit era” in March as devices that can switch between GEO and LEO satellites go into distribution.
By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor
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