Advanced Television

Viasat

Viasat, Inmarsat wrap merger

After a long-drawn out series of competition investigations over the past 18 months, Viasat has finally wrapped its planned merger with Inmarsat. The deal represents the biggest satellite industry consolidation since SES acquired GE Americom back in November 2001 (which cost SES $5 billion at the time). This Viasat deal is more complex given that […]

June 1, 2023By Chris Forrester

Viasat/Inmarsat merger approved

Viasat of California and London-based Inmarsat can now wrap up their much-awaited merger plan. The final regulatory approval, from the European Commission, was granted on May 25th. The two companies expect their merger to conclude “in days” and by the end of May. The European Commission (EC) was concerned that the merger scheme would limit […]

May 26, 2023By Chris Forrester

Inmarsat chiefs standing down post-merger

Inmarsat has announced that Rajeev Suri will stand down as chief executive on completion of the company’s sale to Viasat. Suri has been nominated by the shareholder consortium that acquired Inmarsat in 2019 to serve as a Board Director of Viasat upon completion of the sale. He will also be involved with ensuring a smooth […]

May 26, 2023By Colin Mann

Viasat, Inmarsat targeting growth in IFC, D2C cellular

Mark Dankberg, chairman of Viasat, said that his company’s airline clients were buying into the concept of geostationary satellites and that the recently launched ViaSat-3 satellite would make a major difference to its airline broadband services. Viasat serves 15 airlines including Delta Air Lines which represents major – and growing – demand on Viasat’s satellite […]

May 22, 2023

Viasat reports record revenues

California-based satellite operator Viasat has reported record full-year revenues, up 6 per cent y-o-y, at $2.6 billion (€2.4bn). Revenues were helped by a strong return to business for its in-flight broadband services and the company said it expected its acquisition of London-based Inmarsat to close by the end of May subject to receiving approval from […]

May 19, 2023By Chris Forrester

Inmarsat signs off on a high

London-based Inmarsat will be absorbed by Viasat of California in the near future. Meanwhile, the satellite telco has delivered its strongest revenue numbers in 44 years with improved results cross all its key divisions. Its Aviation segment jumping by more than one-third in Q1 and its Maritime division saw its ninth consecutive quarter-year of growth. […]

May 19, 2023By Chris Forrester

Data: Starlink wins Ookla download race

Download Speedtest business Ookla has confirmed that Starlink is outpacing rival terrestrial services, with comparative data also measuring the performance of satellite rivals HughesNet and Viasat. Users in diverse locations such as Canada and the Philippines as well as a number of African and Latin American countries all cite Ookla data and an overall high […]

May 10, 2023By Chris Forrester

CMA clears Viasat/Inmarsat merger

Following a provisional clearance in March 2023, the UK’s Competition and Market Authority (CMA) is now allowing the proposed merger of Viasat and Inmarsat to go ahead. Both Viasat and Inmarsat supply businesses globally with satellite connectivity that enables services such as the Internet, email, and video calling – including for use on aircraft. In […]

May 9, 2023By Colin Mann

Viasat/Skylogic must pay damages to Starlink

France’s administrative court (the Conseil d’Etat) has again ruled in favour of Elon Musk’s Starlink broadband system, and ordered California-based Viasat-owned Skylogic to pay damages to Starlink. The earlier victory for Starlink was back in June 2022. Viasat bought Skylogic (then called Euro Broadband Infrastructure Sarl) as part of its acquisition of Ka-Sat back in […]

April 20, 2023By Chris Forrester

ViaSat-3 Americas satellite readies launch

Viasat, the global communications company, has confirmed the scheduled launch date for the ViaSat-3 Americas satellite is April 18th, during an approximately one-hour long launch window opening at 7:29pm EDT. The ViaSat-3 satellite will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The satellite will be sent into […]

April 14, 2023