Viasat, a global powerhouse in satellite communications, proudly announced that its ViaSat-3 F1 (VS3 F1) satellite has officially commenced commercial service. Now available to aviation customers across North America, including routes to and from Hawaii, this milestone follows an extensive phase of testing and live trials conducted in the first half of 2024.

“This is exciting news for our aviation customers and the millions of passengers who use inflight Wi-Fi services powered by the Viasat network,” said Jimmy Dodd, President, Aviation segment at Viasat, Inc. “Bringing ViaSat-3 F1 into commercial service for aviation customers will significantly enhance the passenger experience available over North America, including streaming content and staying in touch with the world when flying.”

“Today’s announcement is also a significant technical achievement for Viasat and signals the start of revenue generating services from the first of our three ground-breaking ViaSat-3 satellites,” added Craig Miller, President, Global Space Networks, Viasat, Inc. “A further two ViaSat-3 satellites are currently in the late stages of production and testing, including the successful completion of thermal vacuum testing on ViaSat-3 F3 recently and the successful completion of mechanical environmental testing on ViaSat-3 F2.”

Following its launch in April 2023, the ViaSat-3 F1 satellite encountered an antenna deployment anomaly. Despite this setback, comprehensive in-orbit testing confirmed that all other satellite systems are performing at or above expectations. Although the antenna issue has reduced the satellite’s overall capacity, the robust and high-performance design of the ViaSat-3 system ensures that it can still deliver high-speed broadband services to aviation customers across North America.

Further updates on ViaSat-3 F1 will be shared during our next financial results call on August 7, 2024.

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