ViaSat, Space42 to form Equatys joint venture

Space42 and Viasat (VSAT) announced they intend to form Equatys, a jointly held entity, to enable global direct-to-device services and evolving existing and planned mobile satellite services to a 5G network environment. Equatys is expected to unite satellite and terrestrial networks leveraging a 3GPP non-terrestrial network release compliant platform accessible to standard smartphones and IoT devices. Anticipated to be capable of supporting well over 100 MHz of harmonized MSS spectrum already allocated across more than 160 markets, the venture is expected to establish a foundation for global communications with commercial rollout targeted within three years. The model is anticipated to offer financial investors infrastructure-grade returns with equity appreciation potential, while phased equity offerings will allow additional strategic and financial partners to participate as the system scales.