Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Jun. 29, 2012 Y	Mar. 30, 2012
Accounts receivable, net:
Account receivable, Billed	$ 118,377	$ 108,758
Account receivable, Unbilled	104,545	103,929
Allowance for doubtful accounts	(1,028)	(997)
Accounts receivable, net	221,894	211,690
Inventories:
Raw materials	44,549	46,208
Work in process	27,847	23,932
Finished goods	65,441	57,506
Inventories	137,837	127,646
Prepaid expenses and other current assets:
Prepaid expenses	27,498	25,103
Income tax receivable	189	21
Other	4,625	5,793
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	32,312	30,917
Satellites, net:
Capital lease of satellite capacity - Anik F2 (estimated useful life of 10 years)	99,090	99,090
Satellites gross	657,957	657,957
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	(84,940)	(72,226)
Satellites, net	573,017	585,731
Property and equipment, net:
Machinery and equipment (estimated useful life of 2-5 years)	204,935	195,975
Computer equipment and software (estimated useful life of 2-7 years)	130,412	127,596
CPE leased equipment (estimated useful life of 3-5 years)	101,262	85,271
Furniture and fixtures (estimated useful life of 7 years)	13,899	14,093
Leasehold improvements (estimated useful life of 2-17 years)	51,243	51,205
Building (estimated useful life of 24 years)	8,923	8,923
Land	4,384	4,384
Construction in progress	18,501	16,570
Property and equipment gross, total	533,559	504,017
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	(223,950)	(209,044)
Property equipment, net	309,609	294,973
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	163,204	163,585
Less accumulated amortization	(104,389)	(100,544)
Other acquired intangible assets, net	58,815	63,041
Accrued liabilities:
Collections in excess of revenues and deferred revenues	85,017	88,114
Accrued vacation	18,279	17,573
Warranty reserve, current portion	6,444	6,238
Accrued employee compensation	4,834	21,384
Other	33,690	26,453
Accrued liabilities	148,264	159,762
Other liabilities:
Deferred revenue, long-term portion	15,010	11,414
Deferred rent, long-term portion	8,111	8,237
Warranty reserve, long-term portion	6,441	5,413
Deferred income taxes, long-term portion	2,784	3,073
Unrecognized tax position liabilities	1,306	1,306
Satellite performance incentives obligation, long-term portion	20,982	20,910
Other liabilities	54,634	50,353
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Property and equipment estimated useful life minimum (years)	2
Property and equipment estimated useful life maximum (years)	24
Technology [Member]
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	53,933	54,240
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Other acquired intangible assets, weighted average useful life	6
Contracts and customer relationships [Member]
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	88,701	88,758
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Other acquired intangible assets, weighted average useful life	7
Satellite co-location rights [Member]
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	8,600	8,600
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Other acquired intangible assets, weighted average useful life	9
Trade Names [Member]
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	5,680	5,680
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Other acquired intangible assets, weighted average useful life	3
Other [Member]
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	6,290	6,307
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Other acquired intangible assets, weighted average useful life	6
Machinery and Equipment [Member]
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Property and equipment estimated useful life minimum (years)	2
Property and equipment estimated useful life maximum (years)	5
Computer equipment and software [Member]
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Property and equipment estimated useful life minimum (years)	2
Property and equipment estimated useful life maximum (years)	7
CPE Leased Equipment [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	(35,600)	(33,100)
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Property and equipment estimated useful life minimum (years)	3
Property and equipment estimated useful life maximum (years)	5
Furniture and Fixtures [Member]
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Property and equipment estimated useful life average (years)	7
Leasehold Improvements [Member]
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Property and equipment estimated useful life minimum (years)	2
Property and equipment estimated useful life maximum (years)	17
Building [Member]
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Property and equipment estimated useful life average (years)	24
Capital lease of satellite capacity Anik F2 [Member]
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Property, equipment and satellites, estimated useful life (years)	10 years
Satellite WildBlue-1 [Member]
Satellites, net:
Satellite	195,890	195,890
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Property, equipment and satellites, estimated useful life (years)	10 years
Satellite - ViaSat-1 [Member]
Satellites, net:
Satellite	$ 362,977	$ 362,977
Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Textual) [Abstract]
Property, equipment and satellites, estimated useful life (years)	17 years