Xplornet Communications Inc.'s first 4G broadband satellite, the ViaSat-1 has passed its testing phase, and is now live and operational across Canada. The company says that the ViaSat-1 is the highest capacity broadband satellite "ever" placed in orbit over North America.

Xplornet has also acquired 100% of its Canadian Ka-band capacity to use exclusively, in order to provide 4G broadband to Canadians living in remote and rural areas.

"I can't overstate the importance to rural Canadians of being able to access fast, affordable broadband," says John Maduri, CEO of Xplornet Communications. "We made it our mission to overcome the urban/rural digital divide, and we are succeeding. This should matter to all Canadians. Universal access to and adoption of Internet technology has to be a national priority if Canada wants to compete and win in the global digital economy."

Xplornet initiated a pre-sale campaign when the ViaSat-1 initially launched in October, which included pilot subscriptions to rural Canadians. This was done to test the integrity of the broadband service.

ViaSat-1 is the first of two 4G satellites that Xplornet will be using to provide coverage to those throughout Canada. The second one, Hughes-Jupiter, will be introduced later this year.

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