[Satellite News 04-07-10] ViaSat may commission a ViaSat-2 satellite by the end of 2010, ViaSat CEO Mark Dankberg told Satellite News.
    The operator, which will see its ViaSat-1 satellite launch in 2011, is already planning its next moves. According to Dankberg, the subscriber growth of its satelilte broadband ISP subsidiary WildBlue Communications, acquired in 2009 for $568 million, is causing the company to accelerate its future strategy.
    “WildBlue has been adding in the range of 15,000 gross additions per month. If we add in the range of 30,000 subscribers a month, which was about where we were when the WildBlue-1 satellite launched in 2007, we would sell out ViaSat-1 capacity in 3-4 years. If we do in the range of 50,000 – 60,000 subscribers a month, which is possible given the greater distribution that we have now compared to 2007, we would sell out capacity in closer to two years. So, given a lead time for a Ka satellite of about three years it is possible we could have an announcement for a ViaSat-2 satellite this year,” said Dankberg. 
    The potential configuration of the ViaSat-2 satellite would be determined by how the company would need to fill holes in ViaSat-1’s coverage area and what pricing plan would bring the greatest value for the company. “We would want to get a steady improvement in the economics in the key metric of Gigabits per second (Gbps) that we get for our dollar on the satellite. We will sell out some of the service areas of ViaSat-1 relatively quickly. So, we are also looking to add more capacity in at least some of the ViaSat-1 coverage areas.”
    Before launching into a second satellite project, Dankberg said he wants to capitalize on the advantages that ViaSat-1 aims to deliver to the company in the North American consumer broadband services business. ViaSat will also seek new international partnerships to add to its domestic distribution and financing network, which already includes Dish Network, DirecTV, and the NRTC.
     “It’s difficult for customers to entrust foreign companies with important telecom services. The thing we are looking to do on an international basis is create partnerships on different levels. Fundamentally, we think our international business will be with good local partners. We have valuable skills such as designing the network including the satellite itself, defining and selling and marketing the services, and operating, managing and fulfilling service delivery. We have years of traffic data and lessons learned from operating the WildBlue network. I think these are all valuable in a partnership internationally and we can bring global mobile international roaming customers. Our international relationships can range from a buy/sell relationship to some kind of shared joint investment. Those are the types of things we are interested in,” said Dankberg.
     ViaSat’s light borrowing history may make its quest to fund future plans with capital investment partnerships easier, but Dankberg said he aims to keep the company’s debt at a manageable level. “Before the acquisition of WildBlue, we did not have any debt. We do have some debt now to finance the acquisition and our new satellite, but we have a pretty conservative leverage ratio. So, our debt levels are pretty conservative compared to most other satellite operators. We have a lot of liquidity and the financial performance of the company has been pretty good. We still have plenty of maneuvering room. So in terms of future capital investments or other acquisitions, the key issue for us is that we have to make sure we are comfortable with the business case.”