Viasat-3 Launches, Increases Satellite Broadband Capacity

After numerous delays—ranging from the coronavirus, to supply chain concerns and lastly unfavorable weather—Viasat had a successful launch of its Viasat-3 broadband satellite on Sunday, April 30, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At 8:26 p.m., Eastern time, atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, the satellite began its multiweek journey toward its final destination in geosynchronous orbit at 88.9° West longitude. Viasat-3 will provide over 1 Terabit per second (Tbps) of throughput capacity over the Americas, and the company anticipates that commercial service to be available on Viasat-3 sometime in the middle of this year.

NRTC members have long offered satellite broadband service to their most remote customers, beginning in 2005 with the deployment of WildBlue. That tradition will continue with members offering Viasat-3 connectivity, which is expected to provide around 100 Mbps service to rural households.

You can learn more about Viasat-3 in the official press statement from Viasat. If you would like to watch a recording of the launch, you can find the recording below (the Viasat-3 deployment from Stage 2 is at the 4:49:10 mark into the recording).

We encourage you to contact NRTC if you would like to learn more about Viasat-3 and how you can offer this service in your area.