Rendition of the ViaSat 2 satellite. Photo: ViaSat.

Viasat has announced the availability of its satellite-based home internet service across the United States, which offers speeds up to 100 Mbps as well as unlimited data plans. The Viasat 2 satellite system powers the new service.

According to Viasat, the new service is as much as 10 times faster than typical DSL. Additionally, most of Viasat’s home internet plans meet or surpass the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) broadband definition of 25 Mbps download speeds, with plans offered at 12 Mbps, 25 Mbps, 30 Mbps, 50 Mbps and 100 Mbps speeds nationwide.

Subsequently, the company will enable ViaSat 2 services for business and government as well as In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) on both commercial and business aircraft. In each case, Viasat’s internet service will offer more satellite capacity and more features than before — meaning users will have amplified access across a much larger coverage area.

In addition to the new service running on the ViaSat 2 satellite system, Viasat is already building its next-generation high-capacity satellite system, ViaSat 3. The ViaSat 3 system will offer global coverage with three satellites, each designed to support more than 1 Tbps of network capacity, further expanding the reach of 100 Mbps broadband access. The first ViaSat 3 class satellite is expected to go into service in 2020 for the Americas, with the second satellite for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) expected to launch approximately six months later. A third ViaSat 3 satellite is planned for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.