Wildblue Communications

Wildblue Communications Corporation, Englewood, CO, is a satellite-based provider of high speed broadband internet services. Started as a stand-alone company in 2004, Wildblue has recently been acquired by communications giant ViaSat and now operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary.

Wildblue is a relatively new company so there is not much to unlearn as far as genetic coding is concerned. Management embraces a very open-minded and dynamic approach to its growth strategy. Much of the day to day operations employ the cross-functional operational approach that rewards effort based on accomplishment. This stands in stark contrast to traditional corporate structures where seniority longevity of service holds sway over promotions and compensation.

Wildblue is truly a non-traditional competitor in a highly dynamic and competitive industry. Satellite broadband is a new industry with very few players due to enormous financial, technical, and regulatory barriers to entry. Wildblue has been able to leverage its proprietary spot beam and bent pipe technology and set the industry standard for satellite broadband communications. These technologies have actually become a threat to terrestrial broadband providers like DSL and Comcast Cable. These terrestrial based providers, not Wildblue, are the ones who must embrace change strategy to counter the erosion of their respective market shares to Wildblue. In the past, Wildblue was not competitive with DSL and cable due to lower speeds and higher service costs. Wildblue’s market was primarily restricted to rural customers who would do not have the infrastructure to support DSL or cable based broadband. However, recent technological advances have allowed for much higher speeds at far lower prices allowing Wildblue to directly compete for terrestrial based providers’ market share. Interestingly, Wildblue started with an opportunity based strategy to capture the 30M Americans without internet access and now will be also become a market...