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Digital inclusion is the heart of our mission

Viasat is helping bridge the digital divide — with nearly every aspect of our business.
A man on a derrick at sea, using Viasat internet to improve safety for maritime workers

Why does digital inclusion matter?

Digital inclusion ensures everyone has access to the information, tools, and resources that improve:

  • Education. Access to the internet provides access to valuable online educational content and resources — for schoolchildren contending with an increasingly online-based educational system, and adults looking to learn new job skills to grow their careers.
  • Healthcare. Connectivity brings life-enhancing and life-saving telehealth resources to remote communities that are unserved or underserved by physicians and healthcare facilities.
  • Safety. From early warning to crisis management, connectivity is essential to delivering the information and resources that save lives.
  • Productivity. Connectivity is inextricably tied to almost every aspect of our lives — it’s core to how we connect, collaborate, and communicate, making businesses and individuals alike more efficient and effective.
  • Prosperity. Digital inclusion enables people to participate in the digital economy — giving them access to tools and resources that can help them pursue new opportunities and realize their potential.

Digital inclusion across Viasat

Viasat helps keep customers connected across land, air, and sea — delivering fast and reliable connectivity when, where, and how it's needed most to help bridge the digital divide.

  • Aviation. We keep commercial and business passengers connected, entertained, and productive around the globe.
  • Maritime. Merchant, offshore and energy, fishing, and cruise ships all depend on Viasat to help drive operational excellence and improve crew and passenger welfare and safety.
  • Government. When connectivity and communications are of the utmost importance  — across land, sea, and air — governments worldwide trust Viasat for their most critical applications.
  • Enterprise. Viasat connects industries around the world so they can remain productive and pursue opportunity — wherever it takes them.
  • Home & small business. Viasat connects homes and small businesses — including areas where cable or fiber don’t go — so they can take part in the digital world.
  • Community. Viasat connects unserved and underserved communities around the world — and works with partners to help provide the equipment and digital literacy skills necessary to help the people who live there make the most of their connection.
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Digital inclusion unlocks opportunity for the world

Digital inclusion is directly linked to equity and inclusion by providing access to health care, education, and economic opportunity, and improving nearly every aspect of life — but to date, around half the world is either unserved or underserved with access to high-quality, affordable internet. 2.7 billion people remain unconnected because the internet in their area is unreliable, inadequate, too expensive — or simply not available where they live. 

 

Viasat believes everyone and everything can be connected. Along with several key partners, we’re delivering high-quality, affordable bandwidth to unserved and underserved communities worldwide. When, where, and how it’s needed most. It’s our mission. It's our business. And it's our legacy.

IT TAKES A VILLAGE INFOGRAPHIC  Bridging the digital divide goes far beyond the connection. That’s because it takes time, commitment, resources, and a good set of partners to bring a community online — and to help the people who live there make the most of that connection.  Every digital inclusion project Viasat undertakes is different; below are a range of activities that we and our partners undertake to help foster digital inclusion around the globe. Funding Viasat and its partners work with public and private entities to secure funding that helps ensure the services we provide are sustainable and remain affordable. Infrastructure For many communities around the world, internet isn’t the only thing missing — they also lack a reliable source of electricity. When a community is off the grid or lacks a reliable source of electricity, Viasat works with solar providers to bring in power for our connectivity solutions — and to help improve life for the people we serve. Connectivity Viasat leverages its high-capacity satellites to bring connectivity to some of the world’s hardest-to reach areas — and then delivers it to the people who live there the way that makes the most sense for their community. That can range from publicly accessible hotspots to in-home internet via Wi-Fi or a variety of partner technologies. Equipment Being connected means nothing if a family can’t take advantage of it. That’s  why Viasat works with publicly and privately funded partners to help low-income families access the equipment they need to participate in the digital economy. Digital literacy training           Along with equipment, Viasat and its partners also work with communities to provide digital literacy training to the people we serve to take advantage of their new connection.  Community activation Viasat believes in giving back to the places where we live and do business in a variety of ways, which includes creating installer jobs for residents, our ambassador program that promotes diversity and inclusion by giving local women part-time jobs troubleshooting customer service issues, and by offering lab technician training and jobs with our telehealth clinic partner 19Labs. Online resources Viasat and its partners work to provide families and communities access to online tools and resources to help with education, health, and financial opportunity — including telehealth clinics, online tutoring, job skill training, and more.
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