Space42 and Viasat have signed a binding agreement to establish Equatys, a shared satellite and ground infrastructure venture, with conditional founder equity commitments of up to $1 billion.
The companies said in their September 14 announcement that each plans to contribute $400 million once Equatys is formed. Space42 is expected to add another $200 million in a future equity round open to third-party investors.
The venture’s formation, constellation procurement and related definitive agreements remain subject to closing conditions. These include regulatory approvals and the formal appointment of Viasat as Equatys’ prime technology contractor.
Funding and venture structure
The proposed $1 billion represents equity commitments rather than capital already deployed. Space42 and Viasat also expect Equatys to draw on third-party equity and debt as the platform develops.
Mobile World Live, an independent publication of industry association GSMA, reported the agreement and noted that funding would combine founder and third-party equity with debt.
Viasat is slated to lead technology work after the venture closes. The companies have not disclosed a firm formation date, launch schedule or total cost for the full network in the latest announcement.
Shared satellite infrastructure
Equatys is intended to provide a neutral layer of satellites and ground infrastructure for licensed mobile satellite service providers. Its direct-to-device system would allow compatible smartphones, connected devices and other terminals to reach satellites in areas with limited or unavailable terrestrial coverage.
The platform will use standards developed by 3GPP for non-terrestrial networks. Space42 and Viasat said participating operators would retain their spectrum rights, customers and commercial relationships while sharing common infrastructure.
The companies compare the model with terrestrial tower companies, where several operators use the same physical infrastructure. They say a shared platform could reduce duplication and spread satellite costs across a larger group of users. Those savings and performance benefits remain projections until Equatys is operating at scale.
Additional licensed operators would not have to acquire an equity stake to use the platform, according to the announcement. The companies did not disclose access terms or pricing.
The initial constellation is part of an architecture designed to expand to as many as 2,800 satellites across 60 orbital planes and three altitude layers. The companies have not committed to deploying the full planned configuration. They said the system could add capacity in phases as demand develops.
Asia-Pacific links
Space42 has coordinated L-band spectrum rights across more than 160 markets, while Viasat holds mobile satellite spectrum rights globally in the L-band and in Europe in the S-band. The companies also report commercial relationships with more than 400 mobile operators worldwide and access to more than 100 megahertz of coordinated mobile satellite spectrum. These figures come from the partners and have not been independently audited in the announcement.
Equatys has an early link to Southeast Asia through PT Telkom Satelit Indonesia, or Telkomsat. In a March 2026 update, Space42 said it had entered an exploratory partnership with the Indonesian satellite operator on Equatys-enabled direct-to-device connectivity. The update did not describe a commercial deployment or binding customer order.
Viasat also operates satellite communications services across Asia-Pacific following its acquisition of Inmarsat in 2023. The Equatys announcement does not identify launch markets, mobile-operator customers or regional service dates.
From studies to a binding agreement
Space42 and Viasat began funded technical and commercial studies for shared non-terrestrial infrastructure in March 2025. They announced their intention to form Equatys in September that year and presented more of the planned system architecture at Mobile World Congress in March 2026.
The binding agreement advances the venture’s financing and formation, but it does not remove the execution risks associated with regulatory approvals, satellite procurement, manufacturing and launch. The companies said they would provide further updates as the closing conditions are addressed.
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