Assuming everything goes according to plan, ViaSat this week should launch ViaSat-1 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, finally providing U.S. residential satellite broadband providers with added capacity. ViaSat tells Fortune they hope the new satellite will change the economics of providing satellite service, which up until now have resulted in satellite broadband being seen as a last resort connectivity option. ViaSat tries very hard to convince Fortune that ViaSat-1 will change satellite broadband's bad reputation:Well, sort of. Physics will continue to dictate that satellite broadband will suffer significant latency, and ViaSat-1's not going to change that. ViaSat-1 also isn't going to change the fact that most satellite broadband customers pay an arm and a leg in part because they're captive consumers in an un-competitive niche market. As we've noted previously, while this launch should allow companies like WildBlue to add capacity (they've had to turn away customers in recent years) -- that capacity is going to be used to add more customers, not ease daily usage limits (aka the "fair access policies" or FAP).

Some users may see faster speeds, but as the Fortune article notes many users in the West will continue to reside on older satellites. ViaSat-1's launch may be good news for satellite companies who can improve ROI with added users, but the end result for most customers may not even be noticeable. In other words, satellite broadband will continue to be the Rodney Dangerfield of broadband: expensive, relatively slow, and choked by low daily usage caps.