Friday, April 6, 2018

Viasat Splits With Eutelsat On Satellite, Still Hopes To Launch In Europe

Carlsbad-based satellite network operator Viasat said today that it has discontinued plans to launch its ViaSat-3 satellite with European satellite company Eutelsat, but still plans to launch its ViaSat-3 satellite in Europe. According to Viasat, Eutelsat has decided to "pursue a local market alternative" and will no longer be sharing efforts on launching ViaSat's satellite over Europe. Eutelsat apparently was unable to agree on revenue sharing arrangements with Viasat, and instead will launch its own satellite developed by Thales Alenia Space. Viasat said it still "believes there is significant interest in the ViaSat-3 program from prospective regional partners".