Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 28, 2012	Mar. 30, 2012
Accounts receivable, net:
Account receivable, Billed	$ 118,740	$ 108,758
Account receivable, Unbilled	120,065	103,929
Allowance for doubtful accounts	(1,254)	(997)
Accounts receivable, net	237,551	211,690
Inventories:
Raw materials	42,279	46,208
Work in process	25,643	23,932
Finished goods	58,515	57,506
Inventories	126,437	127,646
Prepaid expenses and other current assets:
Prepaid expenses	32,823	25,103
Other	3,840	5,814
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	36,663	30,917
Satellites, net:
Capital lease of satellite capacity - Anik F2 (estimated useful life of 10 years)	99,090	99,090
Satellites Gross	658,184	657,957
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	(110,379)	(72,226)
Satellites, net	547,805	585,731
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment (estimated useful life)	610,520	504,017
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	(262,790)	(209,044)
Property and equipment, net	347,730	294,973
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	163,735	163,585
Less accumulated amortization	(112,666)	(100,544)
Other acquired intangible assets, net	51,069	63,041
Other assets:
Capitalized software costs, net	55,649	41,992
Patents, orbital slots and other licenses, net	11,236	11,194
Deferred income taxes	84,217	53,602
Other	34,136	30,007
Other assets	185,238	136,795
Accrued liabilities:
Collections in excess of revenues and deferred revenues	66,106	88,114
Accrued vacation	18,097	17,573
Warranty reserve, current portion	7,894	6,238
Accrued employee compensation	13,627	21,384
Other	33,823	26,453
Accrued liabilities	139,547	159,762
Other liabilities:
Deferred revenue, long-term portion	16,188	11,414
Deferred rent, long-term portion	10,701	8,237
Warranty reserve, long-term portion	5,925	5,413
Deferred income taxes, long-term portion	2,684	3,073
Unrecognized tax position liabilities	1,306	1,306
Satellite performance incentives obligation, long-term portion	21,235	20,910
Other liabilities	58,039	50,353
Technology [Member]
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	54,361	54,240
Contracts And Customer Relationships [Member]
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	88,786	88,758
Satellite co-location rights [Member]
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	8,600	8,600
Trade Names [Member]
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	5,680	5,680
Other [Member]
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	6,308	6,307
Satellite WildBlue-1 [Member]
Satellites, net:
Satellite	195,890	195,890
Satellite - ViaSat-1 [Member]
Satellites, net:
Satellite	363,204	362,977
Machinery and Equipment [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment (estimated useful life)	220,527	195,975
Computer Equipment And Software [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment (estimated useful life)	144,734	127,596
Customer Premise Equipment [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment (estimated useful life)	140,885	85,271
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	(45,900)	(33,100)
Furniture and Fixtures [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment (estimated useful life)	14,969	14,093
Leasehold Improvements [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment (estimated useful life)	52,456	51,205
Building [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment (estimated useful life)	8,923	8,923
Land [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment (estimated useful life)	4,384	4,384
Construction in Progress [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment (estimated useful life)	$ 23,642	$ 16,570