ViaSat reports better than expected sales for 2013 3Q

ViaSat, a well-known direct broadcast satellite television broadcaster and pay TV operator, is happy to announce that the company’s shares increased by 24 percent after it reported sales and earnings that are even better than expected for the third quarter. For this period, ViaSat reached a revenue worth $286.4 million -- going past the $265.7 million predicted by experts.

Aside from the boom in earnings, the company also reported profits worth $1.8 million, which contradicts analysts who had forecasted a loss in earnings for the quarter. As a result, Needham & Co. raised ViaSat’s rating from “hold” to “buy.” On Thursday, the company’s shares rose from $9.55 to close at $49.29 on the Nasdaq.

ViaSat’s winnings mostly came from its defense and satellite broadband businesses. Its satellite Internet business wrapped up the quarter with $38,000 more subscribers compared to the previous quarter. Most of the increase was attributed to the distribution offer with DirecTV.

The company ended the quarter with a backlog of $939 million -- $364 million more than the same quarter of 2012.

ViaSat Exede considers bundling VoIP with Internet-by-satellite service

ViaSat is considering an expansion of its Exede Internet-by-satellite Ka-band service

by adding a VoIP satellite service to its Internet-only 12 Mbps offering.

According to Lisa Scalpone, Vice President of Exede, more than 100,000 have subscribed to the company's 12 Mbps Internet-by-satellite service. "We feel pretty good that people will make that trade for one, two, three megabits service,” she said. “For people who need to do things with speed, 12 Mbps is decisive."

Exede offers high-speed broadband service that can favorably compare with fixed wireless, 4G mobile, and stock copper-based DSL counterparts. According to various analytical models, around 35% to 40% of Exede's customer base selected the ViaSat satellite service despite the availability of DSL or cable wireline options in their location.

In addition, Exede is planning to release a competitively-priced bundle of broadband and voice services. "For the VoIP service,” Scalpone said on the challenges faced by the company's new offering, “the biggest issue is proving lag does not matter.”

According to VP Scalpone, VoIP calls can match or even improve upon the quality found in a typical narrowband cell phone call. Exede takes care to optimize and prioritize VoIP calls within the broadband network.

To prove its argument, ViaSat is building and turning over VoIP demonstration units to its retailers for testing by customers. "We have to demo everywhere," Scalpone said of Exede's planned VoIP satellite service. "If we can show people, I think it's going to be huge."

Exede's planned Internet and voice bundle will probably include home number portability, 911, and caller ID features. Its stand-alone Internet-by-satellite offering currently costs $50 per month.

Satellite Broadband for the US via Dish Network

With the recent improvements in the US satellite industry, the country now has the technological capacity to support a nationwide satellite broadband project. The advancements in the satellite sector now enables operators to use higher-frequency bands.

Dish Network to deliver satellite broadband nationwide

Dish Network, in particular, is planning to roll-out internet by satellite with the help of EchoStar Corp's spacecraft, the EchoStar 17 satellite. The spacecraft itself has been delivering increased bandwidth capacity and can provide up to 15 megabits in download speeds. However, expect the broadband-Internet service to offer lower speeds, at around 5 megabits, in order to increase capacity for more customers.

The time frame for the project's implementation would be around September and October. Dish Network is targeting consumers in rural regions who are unable to access the Internet with the help of terrestrial infrastructure like cable broadband. 

The company has been offering broadband-Internet service via satellite in partnership with ViaSat, although the offers was limited to specific regions of the US. The latest project, however, will see Dish Network offer packages and bundles which would include video services.

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