KVH Industries, Inc., [Nasdaq: KVHI] is making an offer to subscribers of faltering satellite communications services by offering $500 of airtime as a trade-in allowance when upgrading to Inmarsat FleetBroadband service and a new Inmarsat-compatible TracPhone® system from KVH. This upgrade offer can be used by customers interested in trading in their old Globalstar, Iridium, or AMSC/MSV, or other regional or low earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems for the next generation in maritime satellite communications.

Inmarsat’s new FleetBroadband service is provided by a trio of new satellites known as the Inmarsat I-4s. Three powerful communications satellites, the I-4s serve worldwide with broadband service, providing Inmarsat’s and data rates as high as 432 Kbps well into the 2020s.

KVH is offering mariners access to this next generation of satellite communications by offering introductory Inmarsat FleetBroadband airtime plans from $59 per month. For regular users of maritime satellite service, KVH’s Inmarsat voice rates are from $0.79 per minute. Data services include a metered “always on” IP service that is billed by the amount of data transferred, or a streaming service with a guaranteed data rate up to 256 Kbps.

Mariners wanting to trade in their old regional or LEO systems, such as Iridium or Globalstar, may select one of KVH’s hardware and airtime packages that include Inmarsat service and antennas ranging from the TracPhone FB150 up through the TracPhone FB500. Customers selecting the “Premium Value” Broadband Plan may receive free TracPhone FB150 hardware or reduced-cost TracPhone FB250 and FB500 systems. The limited time $500 free airtime promotion runs through December 31, 2009, or for the first 100 trade-in activations, whichever comes first.