Viasat will further expand its JetXP internet service for business aviation with a multi-link, multi-orbit solution in the years ahead. The company plans to add Telesat Lightspeed Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite capacity into its portfolio, improving coverage, redundancy, and performance.
The updated offering will add a second terminal to the aircraft, a LEO-only Electronically Steered Antenna (ESA) panel. The ESA will connect to Lightspeed, while the existing tail-mount terminal leverages the Viasat‘s GEO footprint. Telesat Lightspeed is planned to come online in late 2027. Typically aviation activation trails general availability and BizAv trails that even further.
The tail-mount (where compatible) will also offer services via the company’s HEO payloads. That service is in testing today and is expected to be available for aircraft owners in 2026.
Making Multi-Orbit Matter
Viasat is clear that multi-orbit is its desired path forward. CEO Mark Dankberg made that point during a recent conversation around the company’s commercial aviation growth and it extends to the business aviation market as well.
Aviation President Don Buchman expanded on the topic, “GEO remains our highly-efficient, scalable and cost-effective backbone… However, we understand that certain requirements are better served with multi-orbit capabilities and have designed our network architecture to intelligently orchestrate this…” The company also highlights its ability to offer services over China and India with GEO capacity, markets where LEO is not available today.
The architecture includes adding the additional antenna panel while leveraging most of the other existing on-board equipment, allowing for a lighter and truly integrated install rather than adding a LEO option from a separate provider.
By managing the data flows itself, Viasat can optimize for both performance and cost across the various networks. This aligns with what ThinKom proposed with its ThinAir Plus line of antenna solutions and the Hughes Fusion service, which currently uses ThinKom hardware (though not in the “Plus” configuration, at least not to start).
Similarly, Jim MacDougall, Senior Director for Viasat’s Business Aviation Strategy, Viasat, shares that the multi-orbit solution will be delivered under a single pricing package, while adding “non-GEO layers where they meaningfully improve performance, resiliency, or passenger experience.”
Lingering at LEO
MacDougall did leave open the possibility of a LEO-only future, however. “A LEO-only model may become viable over time,” he shared. “But our focus is smart integration – ensuring each orbit works together seamlessly. Since announcing our Telesat partnership, the feedback from operators and OEMs has been very positive, particularly around the flexibility and performance benefits this brings to the cabin.”
As for the LEO terminal itself, the company is not sharing any details. Size, weight, power, performance specs will all be disclosed eventually, but not until at least next year.
More news from the 2025 Dubai Air Show
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- Viasat Plans Expanded Multi-orbit BizAv Internet Services
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