ViaSat Receives $12 Million Order From ARINC for Airborne Broadband Terminals
New In-Flight Broadband Technologies Driving Aviation Demand; Order Coincides
With ARINC’s 50th System Delivery to Launch Customer Gulfstream
CARLSBAD, Calif., Oct. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ViaSat Inc. (Nasdaq: VSAT) has received a $12 million delivery order from ARINC for additional production quantities of the SKYLink(SM) Airborne Integrated Satellite Communication Terminal. The SKYLink communication system is a broadband in-flight communications service that ARINC supplies to business jet manufacturers and aftermarket equipment installers for the business aircraft market. ARINC recently announced the sale of the 50th set of avionics to its SKYLink launch customer Gulfstream Aerospace.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030602/VSATLOGO )
“The small, lightweight, and extremely cost-effective avionics developed by ViaSat have been key to the success of SKYLink,” said Robert B. Thompson, senior director, ARINC Business Aviation Systems. “We continue to see a very high level of customer satisfaction and an increasing demand for the product.”
“Our in-flight broadband technology continues to advance rapidly,” said Bill Sullivan, ViaSat managing director for Mobile Broadband Systems. “We are at a point where interest from the aviation industry is dramatically increasing, and ViaSat’s technologies are improving efficiencies and making in-flight broadband more cost-effective to implement and operate.”
Earlier this month ARINC announced that SKYLink has been selected by Dassault Falcon Jet as the factory broadband communications option for the new Falcon 7X ultra-long-range corporate aircraft. The Falcon 7X is due for certification in 2007 and Dassault Falcon has already received more than 90 orders for delivery between 2007 and 2010.
The SKYLink airborne broadband terminal is based on ViaSat’s ArcLight® broadband satellite technology that uses a spread spectrum waveform. The terminal can deliver digital data to aircraft at rates up to 3 Mbps, providing performance similar to high-speed cable or DSL Internet connections for homes and corporate networks to enable multimedia and other broadband applications for business jet travelers. ViaSat also provides ground earth stations and network operations services to ARINC to enable SKYLink services. Satellite networking equipment provided to ARINC includes ViaSat’s patented PCMA hub cancellation technology which reduces ongoing service costs by reducing the number of transponders required.
About ARINC (www.arinc.com)
ARINC Incorporated is the world leader in transportation communications and systems engineering. The company develops and operates communications and information processing systems and provides systems engineering and integration solutions to five key industries: airports, aviation, defense, government, and surface transportation. Founded to provide reliable and efficient radio communications for the airlines, ARINC is headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland and operates key regional offices in London and Singapore with over 3,200 employees worldwide. ARINC is ISO 9001:2000 certified. For more information, visit the ARINC web site at www.arinc.com.
About ViaSat (www.viasat.com)
ViaSat produces innovative satellite and other communication products that enable fast, secure, and efficient communications to any location. Products include satellite ground equipment, information security devices, tactical data radios, and communication simulators. ViaSat has a full line of VSAT products for data and voice applications, and is a market leader in Ka-band satellite systems, from user terminals to large gateways. ViaSat has locations in Carlsbad, CA, and Duluth, GA, along with its Comsat Laboratories division in Germantown, MD. Additional field offices are located in Boston, MA, Washington DC, Australia, China, India, Italy, and Spain.
In addition the company has three wholly-owned subsidiaries: US Monolithics designs and produces monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) and modules for use in broadband communications for military and commercial applications. Efficient Channel Coding, an innovator in satellite communication components and systems based on the new DVB-S2 standard for satellite, wireless, and wire-line communication systems. Enerdyne Technologies Inc., an innovator in video data link equipment and digital video systems for defense and intelligence markets, primarily for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Safe Harbor Statement
Portions of this release, particularly statements about the performance and deliveries of ViaSat products and technology, may contain forward-looking statements regarding future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties. ViaSat wishes to caution you that there are some factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, including but not limited to: contractual problems, product defects, manufacturing issues or delays, regulatory issues, technologies not being developed according to anticipated schedules, or that do not perform according to expectations; and increased competition and other factors affecting the telecommunications industry generally. The Company refers you to the documents it files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically the section titled Risk Factors in the Company’s Form 10-K, which contain and identify other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements. Stockholders and other readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. We undertake no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements.
Comsat Labs and Comsat Laboratories are tradenames of ViaSat, Inc. Neither Comsat Labs nor Comsat Laboratories is affiliated with COMSAT Corporation. “Comsat” is a registered trademark of COMSAT Corporation.
SOURCE ViaSat Inc. -0- 10/30/2006 /CONTACT: Joe LoBello, lobello@braincomm.com, or Olga Shmuklyer, shmuklyer@braincomm.com, both of Brainerd Communicators, +1-212-986-6667, for ViaSat Inc./ /Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030602/VSATLOGO AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com/ /Web site: http://www.viasat.com http://www.arinc.com / (VSAT)
CO: ViaSat Inc.; ARINC Incorporated ST: California IN: CPR AIR SU: CON
KA-HA -- LAM010 -- 0200 10/30/2006 08:20 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com