[Satellite TODAY 03-06-13] The ViaSat-1 satellite has earned the Guinness World Records title for the highest-capacity communications satellite in the world. The spacecraft, which powers ViaSat’s Exede Internet service, was launched in October 2011. By that time, ViaSat-1 had more capacity than all other communication satellites covering North America combined.
 

   According to ViaSat, this satellite provides 100 times the capacity of a typical Ku-band satellite, and 10 times the throughput of any Ka-band satellite launched before it over the United States and Canada.

   This is the second major recognition for ViaSat-1 in the past month; the first was indirect when in the FCC’s annual benchmarking report, 2013 Measuring Broadband America, ViaSat’s Exede Internet service was ranked as top among DSL, cable, fiber and satellite providers in surpassing advertised speeds.

   In addition to powering the 12 Mbps Exede Internet service, ViaSat-1 is also expected to provide the bandwidth for a new generation of enterprise services, including in-flight broadband for commercial aviation.