[SatNews] iDirect, Inc. (iDirect), a company of VT Systems Inc. (VT Systems), announced that its share of the maritime VSAT market has grown significantly in the past two years, according to the newly released 2nd edition of The COMSYS Maritime VSAT Report. The report, which details the growth of maritime VSAT services, finds that the iDirect satellite communications platform is the system of choice for both service providers and end users.

According to the 2nd edition of the COMSYS Maritime VSAT report, iDirect expanded its role as the top manufacturer of VSAT broadband communications technology.

• Twelve of the top 15 maritime service providers, or 80 percent, now leverage iDirect technology. In addition, 10 of the top 15 rely on iDirect as their primary platform, including the leaders in nearly every major market segment
• Forty-seven percent of all VSAT routers installed on vessels today are made by iDirect. Further, COMSYS reported that iDirect doubled its onboard presence in the past two years and accounted for 60 percent of all new installations in 2009

The COMSYS study also found that many service providers have shifted from SCPC systems to TDMA systems such as the iDirect platform to drive down operating and service costs and gain a more effective network model to support large-scale adoption across the industry’s multiple market segments. In addition, COMSYS noted that iDirect’s broadband data rates, bandwidth efficiency, granular Quality of Service, Automatic Beam Switching, Global Network Management and lower cost equipment have combined to make the iDirect platform the de facto standard in the industry.

Examining the broader industry, COMSYS reported strong growth for VSAT service as the total number of vessels in service rose by 55 percent between 2007 and 2009, despite the economic slowdown. VSAT revenues reached $550 million in 2009, recording significantly higher results than the L-band segment of the market. COMSYS forecasts that the number of vessels with VSAT onboard will more than double to almost 20,000 over the next five years, with VSAT service providers well poised to penetrate the mainstream commercial shipping segment, which is estimated to include more than 100,000 vessels.