Carlsbad, CA - ViaSat, Inc. (Nasdaq: VSAT) announced record sales and earnings for the quarter ended December 31, 2000. Sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2001 were $43.1 million, up 139.4% from $18.0 million for the comparable quarter last year.

Pro forma net income, which excludes the effects of acquisition charges (goodwill amortization), was $3.6 million or $0.16 per share for the third quarter of fiscal 2001, based on 22.9 million weighted average shares. This is an 80.0% increase over income of $2.0 million or $0.12 per share for the third quarter of fiscal year 2000, based on 17.4 million weighted average shares.

Sales increased 129.2% to $119.4 million for the nine months ended December 31, 2000, compared to $52.1 million in sales for the same period last year. Pro forma net income, which excludes the effects of acquisition charges (including amortization of goodwill and a charge for in process research and development) for the most recent nine months was $10.4 million, or $0.46 per share based on 22.4 million weighted average shares. This is an 85.7% increase over net income of $5.6 million or $0.33 per share for the first nine months of last year based on 17.0 million weighted average shares.

Our balance sheet includes increases in other assets and accrued liabilities that are associated with anticipated adjustments for the business we acquired from Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. in the first quarter of this fiscal year.

At the close of the third quarter, ViaSat�s backlog of firm orders was $222 million. The total backlog, including options and IDIQ contracts, was $281 million.

�We�re pleased with our third quarter results,� said ViaSat Chairman and CEO Mark Dankberg. �We have been winning the programs that we�ve targeted in our defense communications and commercial satellite broadband segments. We believe that these contracts, along with other targets that are still pending, are creating opportunities for sustaining our growth. We�re also pleased that the company�s portfolio of ongoing products, funded new product developments, and emerging high growth areas has been coming together to accomplish both our growth and our earnings objectives.�

Third Quarter Business Highlights
ViaSat was awarded significant contracts from ASTROLINK International LLC for development and delivery of Ka-band broadband User Terminals and Service Provider Gateways. The two-way satellite User Terminals will be designed to provide IP connectivity for enterprise customers around the world, supporting transmission speeds up to 20 Mbps and reception speeds over 200 Mbps. The Service Provider Gateways are expected to provide a high-capacity interface between the Astrolink network and terrestrial networks such as the Internet. Equipment deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2003. �These contracts have an initial combined value of $80 million but are expected to eventually generate additional terminal and gateway sales, assuming the successful launch and the expected growth of the Astrolink service. These Astrolink programs are a significant step forward in our quest to become the premier supplier of broadband products to the satellite industry,� said Steve Cable, Vice President of Broadband Systems.

ViaSat shipped the 5,000th Personal Data Controller (PDC) product. The PDC is one in a family of data controller products that support creation/extension of the Tactical Internet for US & allied defense customers. �This is a big milestone for ViaSat because it signifies broader acceptance of the PDC beyond its original target market. Our customers really like this product and have driven sales beyond our expectations.� said Gerry Goodwin, ViaSat�s Network Systems Director. The primary benefit of the PDC is to provide extremely reliable data transmission over noisy tactical radio links that are subject to interference. Over the last few years, the data controller product family has been successfully integrated with most of the tactical radios in the government inventory.

ViaSat began previewing its new ArcLight networking system, which uses ViaSat�s patented Paired Carrier Multiple Access (PCMA) technology. ArcLight is an advanced interactive VSAT network that is the successor to the SkyRelay DVB/IP product line acquired from Scientific Atlanta. �Not only does PCMA enable affordable two-way broadband communications, our ArcLight subscriber terminals will generally cost less than current traditional TDM/TDMA terminals,� said John Restivo, Vice President and General Manager of Terminal Products. Production shipments of ArcLight are scheduled to begin this calendar year.

ViaSat, Inc. produces advanced digital satellite telecommunications and wireless signal processing equipment for commercial and government markets. Other products include information security devices, tactical communication radios, and communication simulators. ViaSat is located in Carlsbad, CA, and Norcross, GA, with additional field offices in Boston, MA, the United Kingdom, Australia, Chile, China, and India.

Safe Harbor Statement
This release, particularly the �Third Quarter Business Highlights� section, may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements, which reflect our current views of future events and financial performance, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results or facts to differ materially from these statements for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to: the ability to successfully integrate the operations of recent acquisitions, industry conditions, changes in product supply, pricing, and customer demand, competition, other vagaries in the communication markets, changes in relationships with key suppliers and the other risks described from time to time in our reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission (including our Annual Report on Form 10-K). Investors should take these risks into account when making investment decisions. Stockholders and other readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. We undertake no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements.

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