The in-flight Wi-Fi market could account for 10...

The in-flight Wi-Fi market could account for 10 percent of ViaSat’s satellite services revenue within three years as deployments continue with JetBlue and United Airlines, wrote Stephens analyst Tim Quillin in a research note. JetBlue has introduced ViaSat’s Exede-based satellite broadband service on 12 aircraft since December and is expected retrofit 15 per quarter for it, said ViaSat CEO Mark Dankberg on a conference call. United is outfitting aircraft for the service, using a mix of Ka-band and Ku-band, Dankberg said. But JetBlue’s recent launch with Ka-band has United “more interested in how they might evolve to something more like” JetBlue, Dankberg said: ViaSat doesn’t expect a decision from United “for a few months.” He said LiveTV is deploying ViaSat’s Ka-band broadband service with JetBlue, which sells it under the Fly-Fi brand and has installed it on Airbus A320-232 airplanes. JetBlue will add Fly-Fi to its Embraer E-190 jets in 2015, Barger said. Fly-Fi’s basic Simply Surf service is free through June, with a Fly-Fi Plus high-bandwidth plan for streaming movies and large downloads available for $9 per hour, JetBlue said. ViaSat added 79,000 gross subscribers in Q3, down from 92,000 in the previous quarter, ViaSat said. The downturn was tied to there being fewer days in the quarter and “more selective customer targeting” as means for reducing churn, Quillin said. ViaSat’s Exede had 29,000 net additions, ViaSat said. The net additions would imply annualized churn of 34 percent, down from 37 percent, but up from an average of about 30 percent in the previous four quarters, Quillin said. ViaSat’s Q3 net loss narrowed to $5.9 million from $20.6 million a year earlier as revenue rose to $332 million from $286.4 million. Satellite services, which includes Exede, posted an increase in Q3 revenue to $138.7 million from $121.7 million a year ago as its operating loss dropped to $9.7 million from $18.3 million, the company said.