ViaSat Signs Agreement to Offer Fastest In-Flight Wi-Fi Line-Fit Option
Agreement Is the First Step to Make the Fastest In-Flight Connectivity Service Available to New Commercial Aircraft
CARLSBAD, Calif., Sept. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- ViaSat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global broadband services and technology company, today announced it entered into a new technical agreement with The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA). The agreement initiates the evaluation process for airlines to specify installation of the ViaSat in-flight Wi-Fi® connectivity system on Boeing Commercial airplanes.
ViaSat offers the fastest in-flight internet speeds – typically 8 to 10 times faster – than any other in-flight Wi-Fi system available today. Under the terms of this new agreement, ViaSat's Ka-band airborne satellite terminal will be evaluated as a factory option for Boeing aircraft prior to delivery, enabling airplanes to come off the line with ViaSat connectivity ready for immediate service. This would allow airlines to avoid costly down-time involved with taking planes out of service for post-production retrofits and ensures that from day one, each passenger and flight crew member gets a best-in-class in-flight internet experience with the industry's only service level agreement, regardless of how many devices are connected on the plane or how many planes are on the network.
"Our agreement with Boeing is an important milestone giving our airline customers the ability to get the best onboard Wi-Fi system delivered with their new aircraft," said Don Buchman, vice president and general manager, Commercial Mobility at ViaSat. "By selecting ViaSat in-flight communications for Boeing's fleet, airlines now can differentiate their in-flight internet service with a flexible, sustainable business model that will continue to create value as more passengers use the service."
John Craig, chief engineer of Cabin and Network Systems for Boeing Commercial Airplanes continued, "In initiating the evaluation process with long-time partner ViaSat, we now look to add ViaSat airborne terminals to our line-fit factory options. This will give Boeing's commercial airline customers a new cost- and time-effective high-bandwidth connectivity choice for their airplanes."
ViaSat's in-flight internet service has won more industry awards in the past 12-months than any other system, including the Crystal Cabin Award, Excellence in Avionics Award, the Via Satellite Excellence Award and the APEX Avion Award. The service operates on nearly 500 aircraft with unmatched in-flight Wi-Fi quality, performance and scale, allowing airlines to provide a highly-differentiated in-flight experience that gives passengers and crew members access to high-speed web browsing, streaming media and productivity applications.
Expanded Partnership, Expanded Global Coverage
As announced in March 2015, ViaSat and Boeing also are working together to offer the ViaSat Flexible Broadband System. This system couples ViaSat's high-capacity ViaSat-2 satellite payload design with Boeing's 702SP (Small Platform) satellite bus to lower barriers of entry for regional satellite service providers to offer affordable, flexible satellite broadband anywhere in the world.
With the ViaSat Flexible Broadband System, service providers can focus capacity to match bandwidth demand and scale their infrastructure as expansion is needed. The vision of this smart global network would allow any ViaSat-enabled Boeing aircraft to stay connected across a much more diverse, global Ka-band satellite network.
About Boeing Commercial Airplanes
Boeing Commercial Airplanes, a business unit of The Boeing Company, is committed to being the leader in commercial aviation by offering airplanes and services that deliver superior design, efficiency and value to customers around the world. There are more than 10,000 Boeing commercial jetliners in service, flying passengers and freight more efficiently than competing models in the market. A record 5,500 Boeing airplanes are currently on order. Boeing Commercial Airplanes, headquartered in Seattle, Wash., employs more than 83,000 people worldwide.
About ViaSat
ViaSat, Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT) keeps the world connected. As a global broadband services and technology company, ViaSat ensures consumers, businesses, governments and military personnel have communications access - anywhere - whether on the ground or in-flight. The Company's innovations in designing highest-capacity satellites and secure ground infrastructure and terminal technologies coupled with its international network of managed Wi-Fi hotspots enable ViaSat to deliver a best available network that extends the reach and accessibility of broadband internet service, globally. For more information, visit ViaSat at www.viasat.com, or follow the Company on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to the safe harbors created under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward looking statements include among others, statements about the performance, expected capacity, service, speeds, coverage and other features of the ViaSat in-flight internet system and the Flexible Broadband System, and the timing, cost, economics, flexible capacity allocation, continuous upgrades, and other benefits associated therewith. Readers are cautioned that actual results could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include: the ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the ViaSat-2 satellite, unexpected expenses or delays related to the satellite project, the ability to successfully implement ViaSat's business plan for broadband satellite services on ViaSat's anticipated timeline or at all, including with respect to the ViaSat-2 satellite system; risks associated with the construction, launch and operation of satellites used to supply these new services, including the effect of any anomaly, operational failure or degradation in satellite performance; the ability to successfully develop, introduce and sell new technologies, products and services; reduced demand for products as a result of continued constraints on capital spending by customers; changes in relationships with, or the financial condition of, key customers or suppliers; reliance on a limited number of third parties to manufacture and supply products; increased competition and other factors affecting the communications industries generally; the effect of adverse regulatory changes on ViaSat's ability to sell products and services; ViaSat's level of indebtedness and ability to comply with applicable debt covenants; ViaSat's involvement in litigation, including intellectual property claims and litigation to protect proprietary technology; and ViaSat's dependence on a limited number of key employees. In addition, please refer to the risk factors contained in ViaSat's SEC filings available at www.sec.gov, including ViaSat's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. ViaSat undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements for any reason.
Copyright © 2015 ViaSat, Inc. All rights reserved. All other product or company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners. Exede is a registered trademark of ViaSat Inc.
SOURCE ViaSat Inc.
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