It may indeed be the case that Viasat is planning to provide direct-to-smartphone service in the future. CEO Mark Dankberg gave a keynote speech in February 2023 at the SmallSat Symposium in which he said the company is researching hybrid narrowband direct-to-smartphone services. By “hybrid” we mean using a combination of satellite types; the geostationary orbit (GEO) variety that tracks with the Earth orbit at high altitudes and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites more often associated with other broadband service providers. Viasat is researching how to use GEO and LEO satellites in one integrated system. In the past it has used GEO satellites.

One way to do this would be to partner with low Earth orbit (LEO) companies including SpaceX if the parameters were right. Specifically, Viasat would look for a partnership that appropriately values the architecture of the new Viasat-3 constellation satellites and ground stations. The first of these new satellites, the Viasat-3 Americas, will launch in April 2023. It appears that Viasat would rather partner on the space architecture it has built than simply lease its new expanded capacity out to other vendors. However, the company isn’t ruling out that option. It sounds as though Viasat would like to be involved in LEO satellites as an active participant if the opportunity was right.

Viasat is actively expanding its market share globally. It is in the final stages of acquiring British GEO broadband and narrowband provider Inmarsat. It’s a key move by Viasat because Inmarsat has global rights to the L-band spectrum and has been working with Low Earth Orbit satellites. One of the driving factors in buying Inmarsat is its ability to provide service directly from satellites to smartphone devices. Currently such systems can deliver emergency messaging. Providing signals direct from satellites to smartphones could reduce dependencies on the current model of satellite phones and large antennas but would open a new world of challenges in national security.

Viasat’s CEO said that while direct communication can be controlled, “… when any cell phone in the world, or smartwatch … within your borders can connect to a space system directly, that is not consistent with the self-interest of quite a few nations in the world.” Yet the momentum to explore satellite to smartphone direct signal services is growing. Companies like Starlink are exploring how to provide internet signals directly to smartphones.

Another challenge is adding more satellites to space and increasing the risk of a collision.

The functionality of a satellite isn’t exactly correlated to its size. What can really help is improving payload integration; something Viasat has mastered.