Xplornet Communications
Inc recently announced that it contracted for all the Canadian residential capacity on the new ViaSat-2 satellite. Boeing Space and Intelligence
Systems is building the new KA based bird. It is scheduled for launch in
mid-2016.
This new capacity is
in addition to and almost double the Canadian capacity Xplornet currently has
on ViaSat-1. To get a feel for the overall capacity of the two satellites, ViaSat-2 has 2.5 times the capacity of the existing ViaSat-1. Assuming a 12 Mbps download service speed, ViaSat-2 could theoretically handle 2.5 million users versus ViaSat-1's one million users. Put another way, ViaSat-2 could handle one million users at 30 Mbps.
While Xplornet
controls, under lease arrangements, the Canadian capacity of ViaSat-1, Exede is a prime user of the system in the
United States. A February 2013 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) report listed
Exede as exceeding its advertised 12 Mbps download speed 137% of the time. This
was the highest percentage amongst the major ISPs tested. I have been unable to find any similar studies
for ViaSat-1/Xplornet in Canada.
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| ViaSat -2 Footprint |
Returning to ViaSat-2 ,
the overall coverage outline is different from conventional previous patterns.
It covers the major transatlantic air and sea routes as well as the major Caribbean cruise ship areas. This will enable ViaSat to offer satellite based Internet connectivity to these major
industries.
With the two ViaSat satellites
operational, Xplornet should be able handle the congestion and capacity issues that
have plagued it in the past. Unfortunately, the commissioning of ViaSat-2 is
still a considerable time in the future.
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