Canadian satellite operator Telesat announced Monday it has secured a “substantial” multi-year contract with Carlsbad, Calif.-based satellite communications provider Viasat Inc. for Telesat Lightspeed low Earth orbit (LEO) services.
Under the agreement, Viasat will integrate Telesat Lightspeed into its services portfolio for aviation, maritime, enterprise and defense markets, Telesat said in a Monday press release.
Specifically, Viasat will “integrate Telesat Lightspeed LEO Ka-band capacity into its multi-orbit network to deliver a new standard of connectivity across its mobility and defense business portfolio,” said a Viasat press release.
“From inception, we designed Telesat Lightspeed with advanced capabilities to meet the demanding, secure, mission-critical requirements of enterprise and government users, with unprecedented flexibility in how our customers define, deliver, manage and monitor the quality of experience to their end users,” Dan Goldberg, president and CEO of Telesat, said in a statement.
“We are honored to be selected by Viasat — a global leader in satellite-delivered broadband solutions — as a LEO broadband connectivity provider, further validating the unique capabilities Telesat Lightspeed offers to enhance a service provider’s value proposition in the dynamic broadband connectivity market,” Goldberg said.
Through the partnership, airplanes that have the Viasat GM-40 antenna installed today will be able to access Telesat’s Lightspeed network when global services begin in late 2027, Telesat said in its press release. The company has previously said the first satellites in the Lightspeed LEO constellation will be launched in the second half of 2026.
In addition, Viasat and its airline customers will be able to install next-generation electronically steerable antennas to access the Telesat Lightspeed constellation, Telesat said.
Furthermore, “[b]y designing to government cybersecurity standards and implementing a Zero-Trust Network Access architecture, Telesat Lightspeed will have the ability to provide secure and resilient communications for defense users,” Telesat said.
“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.”
