A Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) license represents a government authorization to operate a VSAT in a particular country. The consequences of operating a VSAT without a license may include fines, confiscation of equipment, and/or a government ban from doing future in-country business.

Processing a new VSAT license requires the completion of several elements. The majority of these elements relate to technical characteristics of the VSAT system. These elements include:

VSAT licenses are usually valid for long periods of time (e.g. ten or fifteen years) or even indefinitely. In addition, VSAT licenses are generally constrained to the original engineering design parameters of the VSAT system.

Therefore, whenever the associated VSAT system changes, the end-user license must also be modified. Regulators enumerate the type of engineering changes that prompt license modifications. In general, a license modification is required when one or more of the following system changes take place:

Maintaining a VSAT license is akin to maintaining any other company asset. A poorly maintained VSAT license can depreciate or completely lose its value.