SAN FRANCISCO – American-based but Swedish owned ViaSat is looking to bring a space-based revolution to Internet access. It is planning to launch two huge spacecraft which it claims will bring Internet access to consumers in under-served areas.The move is highly controversial, since previous attempts at space-delivered Internet have proved to suffer from frustratingly slow Internet links.
But ViaSat CEO Mark Dankberg has said that by relying on advanced technology he hopes to provide customers with unparalleled bandwidth at very low cost.
ViaSat’s first satellite for this task, designed to provide broadband coverage to users no matter where they are across nearly one-third of the Earth, is due to be launched during Q1 2017.
It will deliver 100Mbps services to remote residential properties in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and parts of Asia, ViaSat claims.
Dankberg may face British competition in space. An outfit called OneWeb, financed by Richard Branson among others, aims to launch as many as 900 mini satellites, aimed at doing much the same task.
