New Offices Underscore Viasat’s Commitment to Expand High-Speed Internet Services Across the Country
São Paulo, September 26, 2019 — Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global communications company, announced today the opening of a new office in Brasilia, Brazil and the relocation of its São Paulo office to a larger facility in the Itaim Bibi district of Brazil’s largest city. The São Paulo office on Avenida Faria Lima will enable Viasat to be in the heart of the city’s growing commercial and financial center, while the office in Brasilia enables Viasat to be in close proximity to its strategic partner, Telebras, the Brazilian state-controlled public telecommunications company. Having dedicated offices in both cities gives Viasat an opportunity to quickly grow its presence in the country, as it focuses on bringing new satellite-enabled connectivity services nationwide.
For more than one year, Viasat has been working with partners to positively build awareness for its service offerings in Brazil. In February 2018, the Company announced a strategic agreement with Telebras to commercialize the use of the Telebras-owned satellite, SGDC-1 (Geostationary Satellite for Defense and Strategic Communications). The collaboration between the two companies leverages the Ka-band capacity of the SGDC-1 satellite with Viasat’s proven ground infrastructure, and ability to bring low cost, scalable broadband services to communities where internet service has been historically unavailable.
The companies have worked in partnership to connect the unconnected across the country. To date, they have connected thousands of government sites, including schools, border sites and other key institutions under the Brazilian e-government initiative known as Governo Electronico - Servico de Atendimento ao Cidadao (GESAC).
In addition to servicing the GESAC initiative, Viasat plans to leverage the available capacity on the SGDC-1 satellite to bring additional satellite services to Brazil, including broadband access for enterprise and residential markets; high-speed in-flight connectivity services for commercial and business aircraft; and Community Wi-Fi hotspot services to communities across Brazil that lack high-quality, affordable internet services. Beginning in July 2019, Viasat launched a Community Wi-Fi trial program in Brazil, deploying free Community Wi-Fi hotspots, with speeds up to 25 Mbps, in unserved or underserved communities in the state of São Paulo, with a full launch to follow the trials. The Company launched a wholesale distribution channel last month, and will continue to expand into additional lines of business, including retail residential service, later this year.
“Brazil represents a critically important nation for global economic growth, and we are committed to ensuring the people of the country have connectivity access to drive social and economic development,” said Mark Dankberg, chairman and CEO, Viasat. “By having two distinct offices in major centers of commerce and government, we can build local Brazilian partnerships to help us more effectively execute on our mission to bring high-quality satellite connectivity to the country—from the coast to the most remote, interior communities.”
Opening its offices in Brazil is a significant step in Viasat’s regional growth plans. The Company is currently partnering with Telebras on satellite services, and has plans to bring additional satellite capacity to the region once it launches its ViaSat-3 satellite constellation. This constellation will consist of three ultra high-capacity satellites offering global connectivity. The first ViaSat-3 class satellite, aimed at the Americas, is expected to launch in 2021.