(MIDDLETOWN, R.I.) — KVH Industries, a leader in mobile connectivity, has shipped its 10,000th VSAT satellite communications system. This is the latest milestone for a company whose history of innovation in the maritime satellite communications industry began in 2007, when KVH introduced the TracPhone V7, the first maritime 60-cm VSAT terminal, and the mini-VSAT Broadband service.
“We set out to make satellite communications reliable, cost effective, and more accessible to seafarers through innovations in technology, satellite services, and business models,” said Martin Kits van Heyningen, KVH chief executive officer. “The accelerating adoption of our TracPhone VSAT systems and connectivity delivered by our high-throughput satellite (HTS) network reflects the demand for the affordable airtime, fast data speeds, network security, IoT proactive monitoring, and value-added services that we deliver. The ability to offer a fully integrated solution, which we see as the KVH Advantage, is desirable both to leisure boaters who wish to remain connected to friends and family on shore as well as the commercial industry in which the connected ship is rapidly becoming a reality.”
KVH manufactures a complete line of advanced HTS antenna systems designed for a wide range of yacht and vessel types. The 37-cm TracPhone V3-HTS is the fastest ultra-compact maritime VSAT antenna and the 2019 recipient of the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) Product of Excellence award, while the TracPhone V7-HTS, a 60-cm diameter Ku-band antenna, is also a past NMEA Product of Excellence award recipient. In March 2019, KVH introduced the TracPhone V11-HTS, a 1-meter Ku/C-band maritime VSAT antenna designed to deliver worldwide data speeds as fast as 20 Mbps down/3 Mbps up. Both the TracPhone V7-HTS and V11-HTS offer a dual-channel configuration that provides simultaneous high-speed and unlimited use data channels for optimal flexibility. All three TracPhone HTS-series systems are designed for KVH’s mini-VSAT Broadband HTS network, which utilizes Intelsat’s FlexMaritime service to deliver multi-layered Ku-band coverage, enabling vessels to see multiple HTS and wide beam satellites for maximum availability of broadband service.
KVH’s VSAT systems also feature the Integrated CommBox modem (ICM), a streamlined belowdecks unit that replaces the need for a rack full of components and integrates all antenna control, onboard network management, and modem functions in one small unit. The ICM also receives onboard news, entertainment, and operations content sent via KVH’s patented IP-MobileCast multicast content delivery service.
KVH’s innovations in maritime connectivity include disruptive business offerings such as AgilePlans, a subscription-based CaaS model for the commercial maritime sector, introduced in 2017. The AgilePlans program, which offers KVH’s global connectivity, VSAT hardware, news, entertainment, and training content, and free installation in as many as 4,000 ports and locations around the world, is proving extremely attractive to global fleets. It has been the driving force behind the company’s unprecedented growth in VSAT unit deployments. In the second quarter of 2019, it accounted for more than 69 percent of KVH’s total commercial maritime VSAT shipments and helped drive an 11% increase in VSAT shipments compared to the same period in 2018.
For more information, visit www.kvh.com.
