Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions - Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Oct. 04, 2013	Mar. 29, 2013
Accounts receivable, net:
Accounts receivable, Billed	$ 129,725	$ 134,206
Accounts receivable, Unbilled	145,528	134,198
Allowance for doubtful accounts	(2,022)	(1,434)
Accounts receivable, net	273,231	266,970
Inventories:
Raw materials	43,461	40,308
Work in process	20,898	21,298
Finished goods	63,800	44,675
Inventories	128,159	106,281
Prepaid expenses and other current assets:
Prepaid expenses	33,828	34,257
Other	3,130	6,562
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	36,958	40,819
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	166,208	162,932
Less accumulated amortization	(123,600)	(115,762)
Other acquired intangible assets, net	42,608	47,170
Other assets:
Capitalized software costs, net	72,862	60,596
Patents, orbital slots and other licenses, net	15,900	11,100
Deferred income taxes	116,576	97,238
Other	36,346	36,314
Other assets	241,684	205,248
Accrued liabilities:
Collections in excess of revenues and deferred revenues	65,388	65,822
Accrued employee compensation	12,374	23,925
Accrued vacation	20,099	19,252
Warranty reserve, current portion	10,200	8,840
Other	47,893	44,070
Accrued liabilities	155,954	161,909
Other liabilities:
Deferred revenue, long-term portion	14,111	15,360
Deferred rent, long-term portion	9,245	8,964
Warranty reserve, long-term portion	5,712	5,267
Deferred income taxes, long-term portion	1,379	1,547
Unrecognized tax position liabilities	493	493
Satellite performance incentives obligation, long-term portion	20,729	21,009
Other liabilities	51,669	52,640
Technology [Member]
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	56,819	53,714
Contracts and customer relationships [Member]
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	88,797	88,651
Satellite co-location rights [Member]
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	8,600	8,600
Trade name [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	6,312	6,287
Property Plant and Equipment - Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	732,837	658,184
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	(149,007)	(123,094)
Property and equipment, net	583,830	535,090
Property Plant and Equipment - Excluding Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	732,120	661,481
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	(314,366)	(282,790)
Property and equipment, net	417,754	378,691
Satellite - WildBlue-1 [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	195,890	195,890
Capital lease of satellite capacity - Anik F2 [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	99,090	99,090
Satellite - ViaSat-1 [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	363,204	363,204
Satellite - ViaSat-2 (under construction) [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	74,653
Machinery and equipment [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Excluding Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	236,043	226,884
Computer equipment and software [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Excluding Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	171,523	154,202
CPE leased equipment [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Excluding Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	206,818	170,934
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	(66,100)	(51,500)
Furniture and fixtures [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Excluding Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	18,006	15,716
Leasehold improvements [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Excluding Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	60,357	57,691
Building [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Excluding Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	8,923	8,923
Land [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Excluding Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Land held for sale	2,846	2,846
Property and equipment	1,260	1,260
Construction in progress [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Excluding Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	$ 26,344	$ 23,025