The Fort Lauderdale (FL) International Boat Show was the scene for KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI), to unveil their TracPhone® V3-HTS, the fastest, lightest, ultra-compact Ku-band marine VSAT antenna... a breakthrough antenna for providing connectivity at sea, with faster data speeds than larger marine satellite antennas.

KVH Industries' TracPhone® V3-HTS measures 37 cm (14.5 inches) diameter and weighs 11 kg (25 lbs.), is smaller in physical size than any other Ku-band marine satellite communications antenna on the market and is designed to provide faster data speeds (5 Mbps download/2 Mbps upload) than larger marine satellite antennas.

TracPhone V3HTS Airtime Plans

The TracPhone V3-HTS’s fast data speeds, combined with its diminutive size, make Internet connectivity and HD-quality streaming available aboard smaller powerboats and sailboats along with commercial vessels, such as workboats and offshore fishing boats, that do not have room for a larger satellite communications antenna.

KVH designed and engineered the TracPhone V3-HTS specifically for KVH’s mini-VSAT BroadbandSM HTS network. This advanced maritime network offers speed and coverage using new next-generation high-throughput satellites (HTS) from Intelsat’s global network with additional satellite capacity from SKY Perfect JSAT, all of which is fully integrated under the IntelsatOne Flex for Maritime platform. KVH is the maritime VSAT market share leader by fielded units, according to an independent industry report by Euroconsult.

Todd Tally, general manager of Atlantic Marine Electronics, a leading marine systems installer based in Fort Lauderdale stated that KVH’s HTS network changes the game for communications on boats. Incredibly fast, robust, and reliable, this service and the TracPhone HTS antennas allows their customers to enjoy internet connections, streaming movies and TV, voice calls, video chats, and more.

The TracPhone V3-HTS is the second HTS antenna design from KVH, which introduced the 60 cm diameter Ku-band TracPhone V7-HTS last year. During the development of both antennas, KVH worked closely with satellite operator Intelsat, which recently upgraded its IntelsatOne Flex platform to support smaller antennas, in anticipation of the release of KVH’s 37 cm terminal. IntelsatOne Flex is a managed service that offers multi-layered global coverage by leveraging Intelsat EpicNG high-throughput satellites (HTS) and select wide beams. The TracPhone V3-HTS is manufactured by KVH at its headquarters in Middletown, Rhode Island.

Brent Bruun, KVH’s chief operating officer. added that ensuring that boaters and mariners around the world can experience the benefits of connectivity at sea has been a driving force for KVH for many years, and the new TracPhone V3-HTS makes that possible for more types of boats than ever before.  KVH streamlines the entire process of getting broadband on the boat by offering monthly airtime and value-added services to create an end-to-end solution unmatched by other marine VSAT providers.

Additional features of the TracPhone V3-HTS include:

• The secure myKVH™ mini-VSAT Manager – an exclusive suite of tools that provide transparency into and control over data usage, including data allocation and customized text and email alerts
• Integrated CommBox™ Modem (ICM) – streamlined all-in-one belowdecks unit featuring the antenna control unit, high-throughput modem, Voice over IP (VoIP) adapter, versatile network management software, and integrated Wi-Fi and Ethernet switches
• KVH OneCare™ – global support program including application engineering, solution deployment, and operating support around the clock