In a partnership with Satcom Direct, satellite network and airborne connectivity company Viasat has strengthened its services to the business jet market in Brazil. This is part of Viasat’s regional plan to support the Brazil market, which covers a huge territory with many areas that lack ground infrastructure. The country is also one of the largest aviation markets in the world, according to Viasat.

“Satcom Direct has been a reseller for Viasat for many years, and they set up that division to support customers that are based or registered in Brazil,” said Scott Hamilton, director of strategy for business aviation at Viasat. “There are unique licensing requirements in Brazil, and services such as satellite communications have to come through a local entity.”

Viasat partnered with government-owned Telebras to operate the ViaSat SGDC-1 Ka-band satellite, which covers all of Brazil. “The ability to add aviation connectivity is a logical extension of that,” the company said. But later this year, Viasat is launching the first of its more capable ViaSat-3 satellites, which will cover North and South America. “So that gives expanded coverage, added performance, and resilience since you’ve got multiple layers you can rely upon,” said Claudio D’Amico, business area director for business aviation at Viasat.