Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions - Composition of Certain Balance Sheet Captions (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Jan. 03, 2014	Mar. 29, 2013
Accounts receivable, net:
Accounts receivable, Billed	$ 155,299	$ 134,206
Accounts receivable, Unbilled	129,665	134,198
Allowance for doubtful accounts	(2,370)	(1,434)
Accounts receivable, net	282,594	266,970
Inventories:
Raw materials	44,567	40,308
Work in process	22,385	21,298
Finished goods	59,539	44,675
Inventories	126,491	106,281
Prepaid expenses and other current assets:
Prepaid expenses	41,385	34,257
Other	2,827	6,562
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	44,212	40,819
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	166,457	162,932
Less accumulated amortization	(127,415)	(115,762)
Other acquired intangible assets, net	39,042	47,170
Other assets:
Capitalized software costs, net	82,048	60,596
Patents, orbital slots and other licenses, net	15,800	11,100
Deferred income taxes	117,987	97,238
Other	40,173	36,314
Other assets	256,008	205,248
Accrued liabilities:
Collections in excess of revenues and deferred revenues	65,212	65,822
Accrued employee compensation	24,299	23,925
Accrued vacation	20,593	19,252
Warranty reserve, current portion	9,046	8,840
Other	36,763	44,070
Accrued liabilities	155,913	161,909
Other liabilities:
Deferred revenue, long-term portion	11,856	15,360
Deferred rent, long-term portion	9,134	8,964
Warranty reserve, long-term portion	8,258	5,267
Deferred income taxes, long-term portion	1,149	1,547
Unrecognized tax position liabilities	493	493
Satellite performance incentives obligation, long-term portion	20,652	21,009
Other liabilities	51,542	52,640
Technology [Member]
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	57,020	53,714
Contracts and customer relationships [Member]
Other acquired intangible assets, net:
Other acquired intangible assets, gross	88,840	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	6,317	6,287
Property Plant and Equipment - Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	770,563	658,184
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	(161,482)	(123,094)
Property and equipment, net	609,081	535,090
Property Plant and Equipment - Excluding Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	757,566	661,481
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	(335,346)	(282,790)
Property and equipment, net	422,220	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	112,379
Machinery and equipment [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Excluding Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	246,797	226,884
Computer equipment and software [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Excluding Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	185,798	154,202
CPE leased equipment [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Excluding Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	215,298	170,934
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	(73,100)	(51,500)
Furniture and fixtures [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Excluding Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	17,256	15,716
Leasehold improvements [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Excluding Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	61,097	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
Property and equipment	1,621	1,260
Construction in progress [Member] | Property Plant and Equipment - Excluding Satellites [Member]
Property and equipment, net:
Property and equipment	$ 20,776	$ 23,025