MARKHAM, ON – The construction of North America’s first 4G broadband satellite is complete, and Xplornet executives plan to be on-hand when it rockets into space on October 18th.
The rural broadband provider has purchased 100% of the Canadian Ka-band capacity on the satellite, known as ViaSat-1, (pictured with a Proton-M rocket), and says that it will integral in providing Canadians in remote areas with a fast and affordable broadband connection.
ViaSat-1 can support customer download speeds of up to 25 Mbps, and its capacity is greater than the capacity of all current North American broadband satellites combined, with the ability to provide broadband service to 1.5 million customers in North America.
The satellite will be launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and then be stationed in geosynchronous orbit at an altitude of 35,786 km – high enough to get a clear view of the vast Canadian geography it will be serving.
Xplornet said that it expects the satellite service to be available to Canadians by late this year.
