ViaSat VR-12 Ka band antenna qualifies for FAA, global standards

ViaSat Inc. announced that its VR-12 Ka-band satellite antenna system has qualified for FAA and international regulations covering electrical and electronic equipment installed on commercial aircraft. The ViaSat product has recently completed industry standard DO-160G testing; the first batch of the newly-certified production units will be available for shipping in a few weeks.

The DO-160G standard applies to every aircraft ever built. This includes general aviation and business jets, helicopters, commercial jets, and modified civilian aircraft operated by the government. The standard test covers altitude, dust and sand, lightning and electrostatic discharge, power input, RF susceptibility, temperature, vibration, requirements, and other relevant criteria.

When partnered up with a ViaSat mobile satellite modem, the VR-12 Ka antenna system can deliver Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) airborne satellite communications. Its very high data rate is suited for military intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) applications that use both commercial and military Ka-band frequencies and require intensive bandwidth.

On previous flight tests, VR-12 Ka successfully tested satellite Internet (achieving upwards of 10 Mbps of aircraft-to-satellite transmission rates,) simultaneous transmission of HD video, video teleconferencing, and VoIP applications.

The VR-12 Ka succeeds the VR-12 Ku band satellite antenna. The older ViaSat system serves aboard more than 300 government aircraft and has accumulated more than half a million mission hours.

ViaSat has learned from its customers that a simple flight line maintenance action can quickly swap antennas in order to adapt the aircraft BLOS communications capabilities. To this end, the Company ensured that the VR-12 Ka system is a form and fit interchange with the older Ku-band system.

The VR-12 Ka-band satellite antenna can be installed aboard Gulfstream, King Air, Pilatus, C-130, and other aircraft. The ViaSat systems will be able to operate in Ka-band overlay regions covered by the Company's growing worldwide mobile satellite communications network.

Enjoy ViaSat Exede satellite broadband through C-COM iNetVu mobile VSAT antennas

C-COM Satellite Systems Inc. recently announced that its iNetVu Ka-75V system can now access the Exede Professional Ka-band satellite broadband service that ViaSat provides to the entire United States.

ViaSat gave its official approval to C-COM after the latter subjected its iNetVu antenna systems to six months of thorough beta testing. INetVu not only met all mechanical, optical, and RF performance requirements for interoperability with Exede satellite services, but it also achieved high levels of pointing accuracy and repeatability.

Consumers, governments, enterprise, and the military from all across the world rely on ViaSat for satellite communications, Internet, and network access. ViaSat's Exede satellite service can match fiber optic broadband connection speeds, with top download speeds of 12Mbps down and upload speeds of 3Mbps.

C-COM's NetVu units are mobile self-pointing, automatically-deployed antennas. They are easily installed inside or on top of vehicles and interface with a large number of readily available satellite modems, creating a very mobile and versatile VSAT platform. And now that C-COM products have reached compatibility with Exede's satellite broadband services, customers can enjoy a seamless auto-point acquisition through the world's highest capacity satellite.

ViaSat has already received a number of iNetVu Ka-75V mobile antenna systems from C-COM. Full production rollout is already ongoing, and the new C-COM systems should be immediately available.