Viasat: High-Speed Satellite Internet & Connectivity Solutions
Viasat provides high-capacity satellite broadband and secure networking solutions to global commercial, residential, and government markets via a unified space-to-earth platform.
Overview
Viasat is a global leader in satellite communications, headquartered in Carlsbad, California. For over three decades, the company has evolved from a specialized developer of satellite ground equipment into a comprehensive global service provider. Viasat’s core mission is to connect everything and everyone, everywhere—from rural households and remote industrial sites to commercial aircraft and battlefield units.
The company operates a sophisticated fleet of Geostationary (GEO) satellites and, through its 2023 acquisition of Inmarsat, has significantly expanded its global footprint and spectrum portfolio. Viasat serves four primary market segments:
- Government Systems: Providing secure, resilient communications for defense, intelligence, and emergency response.
- Commercial Aviation: Delivering high-speed Wi-Fi to major airlines globally.
- Maritime and Energy: Offering mission-critical connectivity for shipping fleets, oil rigs, and remote industrial operations.
- Residential and Small Business: Bridging the digital divide by providing high-speed broadband to areas where fiber and cable are unavailable.
With the launch of the ViaSat-3 global constellation, the company is positioning itself to provide near-global coverage with terabit-level capacity. Viasat’s market presence is characterized by its ability to handle immense data volumes, a direct result of its focus on high-throughput satellite (HTS) technology. The company’s history is marked by a series of strategic pivots and acquisitions that have solidified its role as a backbone of modern global telecommunications infrastructure.
Positioning
Viasat positions itself as the "high-capacity" alternative in the satellite market. Their strategic messaging emphasizes the quality and depth of the connection rather than just the breadth of coverage. While competitors like SpaceX’s Starlink focus on the low-latency advantages of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for the mass consumer market, Viasat positions its Geostationary (GEO) assets as the superior solution for high-density commercial and government applications where reliability, throughput, and dedicated capacity are paramount.
The brand is positioned as a sophisticated, enterprise-grade partner. Their messaging targets C-suite executives in the aviation and maritime sectors and high-ranking officials in the Department of Defense, highlighting "resilient" and "secure" connectivity. Viasat differentiates itself by offering a "multi-layered" network approach—utilizing different orbital altitudes and frequency bands to ensure that a single point of failure does not disrupt the client’s mission.
In the competitive landscape, Viasat moves away from the "commodity bandwidth" narrative. Instead, they position themselves as a technology partner that provides tailored solutions, including proprietary hardware and managed services. Their brand identity is built on the pillars of engineering excellence, proven reliability, and a forward-looking roadmap that anticipates the exponential growth of global data consumption.
Differentiation
The primary product differentiator for Viasat is its high-capacity satellite fleet, specifically the ViaSat-3 constellation. While many satellite providers focus on broad coverage with lower data density, Viasat’s architecture is designed for "bandwidth density," allowing them to concentrate massive amounts of capacity over specific high-demand areas like major flight paths, shipping lanes, or densely populated regions. This makes their service particularly effective for high-bandwidth applications like streaming, video conferencing, and cloud-based enterprise tools.
Key technical advantages include:
- Dynamic Resource Allocation: The ability to shift capacity across the globe in real-time based on fluctuating demand, ensuring efficient use of orbital assets.
- Multi-Orbit Capabilities: Following the acquisition of Inmarsat, Viasat offers a unique multi-band (Ka, L, and S-band) and multi-orbit (GEO and LEO) integrated network, providing unparalleled redundancy and global reach.
- Cybersecurity Integration: Viasat’s products feature military-grade encryption and Link 16 integration, making them a preferred choice for tactical defense communications.
- In-Flight Connectivity (IFC): Their aviation terminals are industry-leading, capable of delivering "at-home" internet speeds to hundreds of passengers simultaneously, a feat that sets them apart from legacy narrowband providers.
Their innovation in phased-array antenna technology and advanced ground segment infrastructure ensures that their hardware is as sophisticated as their space-based assets, reducing latency and increasing throughput for the end-user.
Ideal Customer Profile
The ideal Viasat customer is an organization that prioritizes geographic reach and network resilience over ultra-low latency.
- Company Size: Mid-market to Global 2000 enterprises with distributed footprints.
- Industries: Energy (Oil & Gas/Mining), Construction, Maritime, Aviation, Retail (for failover), and Government/Defense.
- Technical Maturity: Moderate. The organization likely uses SD-WAN or has an IT team capable of managing multi-path connectivity.
- Budget: Organizations willing to pay a premium (compared to residential cable) for guaranteed business-grade support, static IPs, and high-capacity data buckets.
- Team Composition: IT Infrastructure managers who need to solve "the last mile" problem or CSOs focused on business continuity.
Best Fit
Viasat excels in the following scenarios:
- Remote & Rural Operations: When your business operates in locations where terrestrial fiber or cable is non-existent or prohibitively expensive to install.
- Business Continuity & Failover: As a diverse path for SD-WAN configurations. Because Viasat is satellite-based, it remains operational even if local construction cuts a fiber line or a regional terrestrial outage occurs.
- Mobile & Maritime Assets: For organizations needing high-speed connectivity for vehicle fleets, maritime vessels, or aviation assets that move across vast geographic areas.
- Rapid Deployment Needs: When a business needs to stand up a high-speed connection in days rather than months, bypassing the long lead times of "line-of-sight" or underground infrastructure builds.
Offerings
Viasat offers several distinct product lines tailored to specific market segments:
- Viasat Business Internet: Fixed-site broadband for offices and retail. Tiers are defined by speed (up to 100 Mbps) and priority data volumes.
- Viasat Managed SD-WAN: A bundled solution where Viasat provides both the satellite link and the management of the SD-WAN appliance for a turnkey redundant network.
- Viasat Maritime: Specialized stabilized antenna systems for commercial shipping, cruise lines, and energy vessels, offering global roaming.
- Viasat In-Flight: Connectivity solutions for commercial and business aviation, including hardware and high-speed data service.
- Viasat Community Internet: Solutions for remote regions where a single satellite link provides Wi-Fi for an entire village or campus.
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Introduction
Welcome to the Viasat Enterprise Buying Guide. In an era where connectivity is the lifeblood of business operations, Viasat stands out as a global leader in satellite communications. Unlike traditional ISPs that rely on physical cables, Viasat utilizes a sophisticated constellation of high-capacity satellites to deliver high-speed broadband to virtually any location on Earth.
This guide is designed for IT directors, network engineers, and procurement specialists who need to solve connectivity challenges in "hard-to-reach" areas or ensure 100% uptime through diverse-path redundancy. You will learn about Viasat’s high-capacity GEO satellite network, its integration capabilities with modern SD-WAN architectures, and the specific business requirements needed to leverage satellite internet effectively. Whether you are connecting a remote construction site, a fleet of aircraft, or a suburban retail branch requiring a failover solution, this guide provides the technical and operational insights necessary to evaluate Viasat as a strategic partner.
Key Features
Viasat’s enterprise solutions focus on high capacity and reliability:
- High-Capacity Throughput: Leveraging Ka-band technology to deliver download speeds up to 100+ Mbps, significantly higher than legacy satellite providers.
- Unlimited & Priority Data Tiers: Business-grade plans that prioritize enterprise traffic over residential users during peak congestion periods.
- Diverse Path Redundancy: Provides a completely independent communication path that does not rely on local telephone exchange infrastructure or terrestrial cable routes.
- TCP Acceleration: Built-in hardware and software optimization to mitigate the effects of satellite latency on web browsing and file transfers.
- Global Coverage: A growing constellation (including the ViaSat-3 platform) designed to provide near-global high-speed coverage.
- Managed Services: Options for end-to-end network management, including equipment leasing, installation, and 24/7 proactive monitoring.
Use Cases
- Construction & Energy: A remote mining site in Western Australia uses Viasat to provide high-speed connectivity for site offices, enabling real-time telemetry from machinery and video conferencing for engineers.
- Retail Failover: A national pharmacy chain implements Viasat as a secondary WAN link. When a local fiber cut occurs, the SD-WAN automatically routes credit card processing and prescription databases over the satellite link, preventing downtime.
- Disaster Recovery: A state emergency management agency keeps Viasat "Fly-away" kits ready. During a hurricane, they can deploy portable satellite terminals to restore communications in 30 minutes when cell towers are down.
- In-Flight Connectivity: A major airline utilizes Viasat’s high-capacity Ka-band network to provide "home-like" streaming Wi-Fi to hundreds of passengers simultaneously across transcontinental flights.
Pricing Models
Viasat Enterprise pricing is typically structured around three main drivers:
- Service Tier (Speed): Prices scale based on maximum download/upload speeds (e.g., 35/4, 60/5, or 100/10 Mbps).
- Data Allowance: While many plans offer "unlimited" data, they are governed by "Priority Data" buckets. Once the priority bucket is exhausted, speeds may be throttled during congestion. High-usage enterprise plans carry a premium.
- Hardware & Installation: Buyers can choose to purchase equipment upfront or pay a monthly lease fee. Professional installation is a standard one-time cost.
- Contract Term: Standard enterprise contracts range from 12 to 36 months, with discounts available for longer commitments or multi-site deployments.
- Add-ons: Costs for Static IPs, persistent technical support, and specialized mobile/maritime terminals.
Technical Requirements
To deploy Viasat, the following technical prerequisites must be met:
- Physical Space: A mounting location (roof, pole, or ground) for a satellite dish (usually 75cm to 1.2m in diameter).
- Line of Sight: An unobstructed view of the southern sky (in the northern hemisphere). Obstacles like trees or tall buildings will degrade or block the signal.
- Power: Standard AC power (110/220V) for the satellite modem and any indoor networking equipment.
- Cabling: RG-6 coaxial cable run from the outdoor dish to the indoor modem (typically limited to 150 feet without amplification).
- Network Compatibility: A router or firewall capable of handling a DHCP or Static IP handoff from the Viasat modem. Organizations using VoIP or Video should ensure their equipment supports jitter buffering.
Business Requirements
To successfully implement Viasat, organizations should consider the following:
- Installation Logistics: Clear "line-of-sight" to the southern sky (for geostationary satellites) is required. Facilities teams must coordinate roof access and mounting permits.
- Bandwidth Management: While Viasat offers high speeds, satellite data is a shared resource. IT teams should have policies in place for prioritizing mission-critical traffic over recreational streaming.
- Latency Awareness: Because Viasat uses geostationary (GEO) satellites, round-trip latency is higher than fiber (typically 600ms+). Business processes must be compatible with this delay (e.g., avoiding high-frequency trading or certain real-time twitch-response applications).
- Stakeholder Buy-in: Operations and IT must align on the use case—whether it is primary connectivity or a secondary "always-on" backup.
Implementation Timeline
A typical Viasat implementation follows this schedule:
- Discovery & Site Survey (Week 1): Assessment of geographic location, data requirements, and physical site survey to ensure clear line-of-sight.
- Order Processing & Equipment Shipping (Week 1-2): Hardware (modem and dish) is dispatched to the site.
- Installation (Week 2-3): Professional installation by a certified technician. This typically takes 3-5 hours per site.
- Network Integration (Week 3): Configuration of the Viasat modem with existing routers, firewalls, or SD-WAN appliances.
- Go-Live & Testing (Week 3-4): Performance validation and handover to the local IT team.
- Note: Timelines can be accelerated for emergency deployments or extended for complex multi-site rollouts.
Support Options
Viasat provides tiered support structures for business customers:
- Standard Business Support: 24/7 phone and email support with standard ticketing.
- Enterprise Priority Support: Dedicated account managers and technical lead contacts for large-scale deployments, with faster SLA-backed response times.
- On-Site Service: Field technician dispatch for hardware repairs or realignments, typically available within 24-48 hours depending on location.
- Self-Service Portal: An online dashboard for real-time data usage tracking, billing management, and signal strength monitoring.
- Professional Services: Consulting for complex network design, especially for maritime and aviation integrations.
Integration Requirements
Viasat is designed to be "plug-and-play" with standard networking stacks:
- Standard Ethernet Interface: The Viasat modem provides a standard RJ45 Ethernet handoff, making it compatible with any modern router or firewall.
- SD-WAN Compatibility: Viasat is a preferred transport layer for SD-WAN providers (like Velocloud, Silver Peak, or Cisco Meraki) to provide path redundancy.
- Static IP Support: Available for businesses requiring inbound access for VPNs, remote management, or hosting local servers.
- API Access: For enterprise-level customers, Viasat provides APIs for usage monitoring, billing integration, and terminal status checks.
- VPN Support: Supports standard IPsec and SSL VPNs, though performance optimization (TCP acceleration) is recommended for best results over satellite.
Security & Compliance
Viasat maintains rigorous security standards suitable for government and enterprise use:
- Encryption: Data is encrypted over the satellite air interface to prevent interception.
- Physical Security: Viasat ground stations and data centers are highly secure facilities with restricted access.
- Compliance: Viasat services can be configured to support HIPAA and PCI-DSS compliance when used in conjunction with appropriate end-to-end encryption (VPNs).
- Government-Grade Security: As a major contractor for the U.S. Department of Defense, Viasat offers specialized "high-assurance" networking for sensitive applications.
- Private Networking: Options for private backhaul, allowing traffic to bypass the public internet entirely and route directly to a customer's data center.
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