Satellite operator Telesat has signed a multi-year contract with Viasat to provide Telesat Lightspeed Low Earth Orbit (LEO) services.
Viasat plans to integrate Telesat Lightspeed into its services portfolio for aviation, maritime, enterprise and defence markets. The Telesat Lightspeed network service will launch for Viasat-equipped commercial aircraft by late 2027.
Dan Goldberg, president and CEO of Telesat said, “From inception, we designed Telesat to meet the demanding, secure, mission-critical requirements of enterprise and government users. We are honoured to be selected by Viasat.”
The deal enables thousands of commercial aircraft with the Viasat GM-40 antenna. Viasat and its airline customers also will be able to install next-generation electronically steerable antennas (ESAs) to access the advanced Telesat Lightspeed constellation.
Telesat Lightspeed delivers high-speed, low-latency broadband globally, as well as to hotspots such as large airport hubs, all backed by enterprise-grade Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
Telesat Lightspeed has been designed to government cybersecurity standards and implements a Zero-Trust Network Access architecture. Built to telecom Carrier Ethernet standards for ease of integration and interoperability, Telesat Lightspeed supports the network automation goals of Viasat and other service providers.
