Viasat Inc. is a communications company based in Carlsbad, CA. Viasat was one of the earliest entries into edge computing with patent assets dating back to 2009. They originally showed up in the platform non-blockchain category before pivoting into the communications category as you might expect. Interestingly, Viasat’s patent activity paused with their last publication occurring in 2016 before their more recent stretch of patents starting with a publication in 2020. Both of their recently issued patents come from filings in the last three years, so the pause in patenting may be a shift in strategy. Despite the break, the inventors on the patents are still the same and the focus on all of them is still around a content delivery network.
Viasat has most recently gained attention for their plans to launch global satellite broadband in the coming years. As that will rely a lot on speed, it will not be surprising to see this round of patents continue. However, their rate of filing will need to pick up if they want to keep up with the other large corporations in the sector. It will be worth watching to see if Viasat tries to acquire a startup to make up for that gap in patenting. They certainly have the size and cash to become a big player in the communications category, but they will need to establish a broader patent portfolio to compete.
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