CARLSBAD, Calif. and
MENLO PARK, Calif., Feb. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Global
communications company Viasat Inc., (Nasdaq: VSAT) and Facebook
Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) announced today a collaboration to accelerate the
deployment of affordable, high-speed, high-quality internet to
communities that lack reliable internet or have no connectivity at
all.
Viasat and Facebook are working together to make the internet
accessible to more people in rural areas around the world. The
collaboration will help accelerate the deployment of Viasat's
market-leading satellite-enabled Community Wi-Fi hotspot service,
which is an innovative, proven approach to bringing high-speed,
affordable Wi-Fi directly to consumer's devices, where internet
service was previously unavailable or ineffective. The Viasat
service requires minimal local infrastructure, is
highly-sustainable and rapidly scalable in emerging markets where
large gaps exist among demand, affordability and availability of
internet services.
As part of this collaboration, Viasat will place high-speed
satellite Wi-Fi hotspots—delivered as an affordable pre-paid
service—at thousands of rural locations. Facebook is investing in
the roll-out and working with Viasat to help identify optimal
deployment locations within Viasat's current and planned satellite
coverage.
"Facebook is committed to working with industry partners around
the world to help bring more people online to a faster internet,"
said Dan Rabinovitsj, vice president, Facebook
Connectivity. "Viasat's rapidly growing Community Wi-Fi
hotspot service, already available to over one million people in
rural Mexico, is an example of a
model that can help overcome the global connectivity challenges of
accessibility and affordability, particularly in hard to reach
rural areas. We are excited to partner with an industry leader like
Viasat to accelerate Wi-Fi network deployments. Our joint
initiative will enable more people to connect with friends and
family, share knowledge and access education and career
opportunities."
The collaboration will initially focus on Mexico, bringing internet connectivity to
remote regions of the country, with an opportunity to expand
globally.
"Enabling the next four billion internet users to come online is
one of the grand challenges of our time – and participating in that
is also one of the most exciting and rewarding opportunities of the
mobile internet era," said Mark
Dankberg, chairman and CEO, Viasat. "Rural communities,
especially in emerging markets, are often the hardest to serve
economically, yet are a vivid example of how Viasat's innovative
space communication systems can bring broadband communication
services to the places that need it most, at the lowest bandwidth
costs. We are pleased with the support that Facebook is bringing to
our initiative and excited about the opportunity to accelerate the
pace at which we can scale."
Viasat is seeing rapid growth in its Community Wi-Fi service in
Mexico. In less than one year
since launch, Viasat has already brought the internet within reach
to more than one million Mexican citizens—delivering up to 100
Megabit per second speeds at affordable prices. Today the Viasat
Community Wi-Fi service leverages the world's most advanced
high-capacity satellite, ViaSat-2, and the Company is currently
building a global constellation of three next-generation
ultra-high-capacity satellites, known as the ViaSat-3 class of
satellites, to bring affordable high-speed, high-quality internet
connectivity to the hardest to reach places on earth. For more
information on how Viasat's Community Wi-Fi service works to
strengthen local communities and global economies, watch
this video of a recent deployment in Mexico.
About Viasat
Viasat is a global communications company
that believes everyone and everything in the world can be
connected. For more than 30 years, Viasat has helped shape how
consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the world
communicate. Today, the Company is developing the ultimate global
communications network to power high-quality, secure, affordable,
fast connections to impact people's lives anywhere they are—on the
ground, in the air or at sea. To learn more about Viasat,
visit: www.viasat.com, go to Viasat's Corporate Blog, or
follow the Company on social media
at: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter or YouTube.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains
forward-looking statements that are subject to the safe harbors
created under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements include, among
others, statements that refer to the relationship
between Viasat and Facebook, including the ability to
accelerate the deployment of Viasat's Community Wi-Fi service; how
the two companies will identify site locations; and the expansion
of the Community Wi-Fi service in Mexico or globally. Readers
are cautioned that actual results could differ materially from
those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Factors that
could cause actual results to differ include: contractual problems,
product defects, manufacturing issues or delays, regulatory issues,
technologies not performing in accordance with expectations;
increased competition and other factors affecting the Mexican
connectivity sector, generally. In addition, please refer to the
risk factors contained in Viasat's SEC filings available
at www.sec.gov, including Viasat's most recent
Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on
which they are made. Viasat undertakes no obligation to update
or revise any forward-looking statements for any reason.
Copyright © 2019 Facebook is a trademark of Facebook,
Inc. Viasat, Inc. All rights reserved. All other product or
company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only
and may be trademarks of their respective owners. Viasat is a
registered trademark of Viasat, Inc.
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SOURCE Viasat, Inc.