ViaSat To Buy WildBlue Internet

At the moment WildBlue Satellite has roughly 400

,000 customers, with 90% of that total having just dial-up Internet service as their only alternative. The increase in speed will allow WildBlue to compete in DSL and Cable markets as well.

ViaSat Inc. a Carlsbad, California satellite equipment maker for defense and consumer markets, announced on October 1 a deal, in principle to buy privately held WildBlue Communications Inc. of Denver, Colorado, a high-speed Satellite Internet provider, one of the nations top ISPs, for a reported $568 million in cash and stock. The move will allow the two companies to reduce long-term costs and risk, as they seek to expand their position in the consumer broadband satellite Internet market.

The ViaSat SurfBeam networking system, which pioneered the use of unprocessed Ka-band spot beam technology to provide increased capacity and lower the cost of bandwidth, currently powers WildBlue. ViaSat has plans to launch ViaSat1 a new higher-capacity satellite in the first quarter of 2011, which will enable WildBlue to run at speeds between 2-8 Megabits per second, similar to the speeds cable companies provide their customers. The increase in speed apparently will not be accompanied by a rate increase, as ViaSat plans to keep WildBlue service prices at their current levels, ranging from $39.95 to $79.95. Currently WildBlue speeds reach 1.5 Mbps and start at 512 Kbps.

One challenge for WildBlue has been a lack of capacity to meet the demand for their service. This has caused some potential customers to be acquired by satellite Internet rival HughesNet, who is typically higher priced and more costly to start up. The merger should alleviate this problem and accelerate WildBlue's already robust growth. Great news for customers in rural areas where dialup is the only other option and better news for customers that have DSL and/or cable available for Internet, the advent of another player in those markets can only be good for consumers.

The deal is expected to close in early April, subject to regulatory clearance and other conditions. The final transaction will consist of $443 million in cash and another $125 million in newly issued ViaSat stock shares. Based on how the Street has embraced this deal the stock may come out to be even more valuable than first anticipated. ViaSat shares rose sharply to a new 52-week high at $28.34 per share.

Stuck with dialup? You don't have to be. WildBlue Satellite Internet is available everywhere and can take you anywhere on the Internet you want to be. Always on, high-speed and best of all, no phone line necessary.

By: Francis DavidViaSat To Buy WildBlue InternetBy: Francis David

POST COMMENT

You Must Do This For Your Internet Business To Grow SEO Company Provides Internet Visibility Computers on Construction Job Sites- The Benefits of Having a Fast, Effective, and Secure Network Computers on Construction Job Sites and Network Security Ways to Increase Web Traffic For Internet Marketing Best Calgary Internet Marketing Tips Cutting Edge Network Marketing Tools For Today's Mlm Owner Get The Perfect Look With Dish Network Make A Better Home With Dish Network In-the-Cloud Internet Security for Strong Protection Internet Marketing The Simple Way Gets success in business through Affiliate marketing or Internet marketing Web Internet Marketing - Focus On Priorities