April 6, 2018

Viasat Inc confirmed it will not be moving forward with Eutelsat Communications on a deal for use of the ViaSat-3 satellite, due to Eutelsat's decision to pursue a local market alternative.

 

Viasat President and Chief Operating Officer Rick Baldridge released the following statement: "Viasat remains excited about its ViaSat-3 program for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), which is well underway and on track. The Company believes there is significant interest in the ViaSat-3 program from prospective regional partners, as ViaSat-3 is expected to be the highest capacity communications satellite system in the world when it launches. The ViaSat-3 satellite for EMEA is expected to serve more than 1 Terabit per second (Tbps) of total network capacity to meet the growing broadband needs of residential, commercial aviation, maritime, enterprise and government sectors."

As there was no binding agreement with Eutelsat for the ViaSat-3 EMEA satellite, Viasat's capital plan is not dependent on Eutelsat's participation to proceed with the ViaSat-3 program.

Viasat also confirmed that Eutelsat's ViaSat-3 decision has no direct impact on existing contracts. Baldridge continued, "The current Viasat / Eutelsat joint venture, which has been in operation for more than one year, will continue to be governed under the existing agreements. Viasat's joint ownership of the KA-SAT satellite is currently serving Viasat's commercial aviation and government customers as well as direct-to-home residential subscribers throughout Europe."