ViaSat has been awarded an initial contract valued at approximately $57 million with options for an additional $15 million by Boeing to develop a ground-based beam forming (GBBF) system for a new mobile communication network covering North America. The beam forming system will operate with Boeing's new MSV satellites, being provided for Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV).
The MSV network is designed to deliver advanced voice and data services via a seamless satellite/terrestrial hybrid architecture into devices that are virtually identical to today's cell phone handsets in terms of aesthetics, cost, function and mobility.
ViaSat will supply Boeing with GBBF processors, Calibration Earth Stations, and the control and management subsystem for the three satellite networks.
ViaSat's ground-based beam forming system creates hundreds of small, flexible, adaptive "spot" beams on the earth that allow mobile handsets to communicate directly with the satellite with smaller antennas, higher speeds, and better performance than ever before. While the beams are projected to the earth by the satellites, the actual beam shaping signal processing is done in the ground system and allows MSV to optimize the use of frequency spectrum shared between the satellite and terrestrial cellular towers. MSV holds a number of patents for integrating satellite and Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC) resources into a seamless mobile network combining the ubiquity of satellite with the convenience and indoor coverage of conventional cellular networks.
Stephen T. O'Neill, president, Boeing Satellite Systems International, Inc. said, "This contract provides technologies to help ensure the success of the advanced MSV hybrid mobile telecommunications network. The ground-based beam-forming technology allows for a lighter, more efficient satellite, and keeping the technology on the ground instead of in orbit means we can upgrade the system as the technology advances."
"GBBF is a very strategic technology for substantially enhancing the performance and capacity of spot beam satellites. And, the combination of GBBF with MSV ATC technology offers a powerful new platform for hybrid space/ground delivery of advanced mobile digital services of all types," said Mark Dankberg, chairman and CEO of ViaSat. "We are delighted to be working with Boeing and MSV on this state-of-the-art mobile system."
"This GBBF program creates a tremendous new technology platform at Comsat Labs," said Dr. Prakash Chitre, VP and general manager, of the Comsat Labs Division of ViaSat, which is leading ViaSat's efforts. "The Labs has a long history of inventing and deploying new satellite communications technologies. We believe that GBBF, and our relationships with Boeing and MSV, will help foster other new and important satellite networking advances in the future."
