The companies have successfully showcased
direct-to-device smartphone connectivity during this week's
India Mobile Congress in New
Delhi.
NEW
DELHI, Oct. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Viasat, Inc.
(NASDAQ: VSAT), a global leader in satellite communications, today
announced it has successfully demonstrated direct-to-device
satellite connectivity in India
for the first time.
Working alongside partner BSNL, India's telecommunications provider, Viasat
engineers successfully showcased satellite-powered two-way
messaging services for attendees at India Mobile Congress — one of
Asia's largest technology
fairs. Viasat is currently working with its partners,
including BSNL in India, to power
the expansion of satellite services on consumer and IoT devices
across the world.
In the trial, Viasat demonstrated two-way messaging and SoS
messaging using a commercial Android smartphone enabled for
non-terrestrial network (NTN) connectivity. The messages were sent
roughly 36,000km to one of Viasat's geostationary L-band
satellites. The outcome proves satellite services to cell phone
connectivity is technically feasible for Indian consumers and
businesses using Viasat's satellite network.
Direct-to-device connectivity is a new technology which allows
everyday devices – like mobile phones, smart watches, or cars –
industrial machinery, and transport operators to connect seamlessly
to both terrestrial and satellite coverage. This means devices can
stay connected from any location without the need for dedicated
hardware to connect to satellites. The new technology follows
new global mobile 3GPP release 17 standards, which are
currently being adopted by satellite operators, mobile network
operators, handset and chipset manufacturers.
Viasat has a longstanding heritage in providing satellite safety
services – including providing the backbone of the Global Maritime
Distress and Safety Service (GMDSS), with more than 120,000
connected safety terminals, and flight deck safety communications
for over 12,000 aircraft. It provides these highly reliable safety
communications through its licensed L-band spectrum.
Viasat is also a founding member of MSSA, a non-profit industry
association formed to support open interoperable architectures and
standards for integrating terrestrial and NTN services. For mobile
network operators, using existing licensed satellite spectrum
avoids tying up valuable cellular spectrum and avoids new
regulatory approval processes.
Sandeep Moorthy, Chief
Technical Officer, Viasat, said: "It is exciting to be
showcasing the potential for direct-to-device in India, where D2D could help reduce barriers to
accessing satellite connectivity – particularly in India where millions do not have access to
reliable terrestrial connectivity. In the future, D2D could help
transform the Indian production and supply chain to become more
efficient, more sustainable and safer, and support automotive
applications to enhance safety and conditions-based maintenance.
Together with partners like BSNL, Viasat is driving a
standards-based, open, transparent, collaborative D2D ecosystem to
deliver seamless connectivity experiences no matter where a person,
device, or vehicle is."
Robert J Ravi, Chairman and Managing Director, BSNL,
said: "BSNL, in an exclusive partnership with Viasat, is proud
to lead Direct-to-Device innovation. Today's successful
demonstration, the first in India,
showcases the potential to enhance direct communications for
critical services, disaster recovery, and even rural connectivity
across India using the BSNL
network and Viasat's L-band satellite constellation."
About Viasat
Viasat is a global communications
company that believes everyone and everything in the world can be
connected. With offices in 24 countries around the world, our
mission shapes how consumers, businesses, governments and
militaries around the world communicate and connect. Viasat is
developing the ultimate global communications network to power
high-quality, reliable, secure, affordable, fast connections to
positively impact people's lives anywhere they are—on the ground,
in the air or at sea, while building a sustainable future in space.
In May 2023, Viasat completed its
acquisition of Inmarsat, combining the teams, technologies and
resources of the two companies to create a new global
communications partner. Learn more at www.viasat.com, the Viasat
News Room or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X or
YouTube.
Copyright © 2024 Viasat, Inc. All rights reserved.
Viasat, the Viasat logo and the Viasat Signal are registered
trademarks in the U.S. and in other countries of Viasat, Inc. All
other product or company names mentioned are used for
identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their
respective owners.
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 that refer to the technical feasibility,
potential benefits or future roll-out of direct-to-device
connectivity in India. 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: future partnerships in India required to deliver direct-to-device
services; network availability or satellite capacity required to
scale direct-to-device services; our ability to realize the
anticipated benefits of satellites and any future satellite we may
construct or acquire; risks associated with the construction,
launch and operation of satellites, including the effect of any
anomaly, operational failure or degradation in satellite
performance; the effect of adverse regulatory changes (including
changes affecting spectrum availability or permitted uses) on our
ability to sell or deploy our products and services; changes in the
way others use spectrum; our inability to access additional
spectrum, use spectrum for additional purposes, and/or operate
satellites at additional orbital locations; competing uses of the
same spectrum or orbital locations that we utilize or seek to
utilize; In addition, please refer to the risk factors contained in
our SEC filings available at www.sec.gov, including our 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. We undertake no obligation to update or revise
any forward-looking statements for any reason.
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SOURCE Viasat, Inc.