KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI) recently shipped their 9,000th mini-VSAT Broadband(sm) system.
KVH’s TracPhone® V-series antenna systems are designed to provide satellite broadband connectivity to commercial vessels and leisure yachts around the world, by using advanced satellite technology, including the latest HTS.
KVH’s products and services have been recognized in the maritime industry for many years. TracPhone V-series systems have received eight product excellence awards from the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) in the past nine years. Also, in “Prospects for Maritime Satellite Communications, 6th Edition” (2018), industry analysts at Euroconsult reported that KVH is the market share leader in maritime VSAT by units, noting that KVH’s share of the maritime industry’s fielded VSAT terminals is nearly double that of its next closest competitor, as of the end of 2017.
KVH’s advanced TracPhone antenna systems include the TracPhone V3-HTS, a 37 cm. diameter Ku-band ultra-compact maritime VSAT antenna, and the TracPhone V7-HTS, a 60 cm. diameter Ku-band antenna. These HTS antenna systems are designed for KVH’s mini-VSAT Broadband HTS network, which uses Intelsat Flex Maritime service, providing multi-layered global coverage through Intelsat EpicNG HTS and select wide beams.
KVH also manufactures the TracPhone V11-IP, a 1.1 meter diameter, dual-mode C-/Ku-band antenna for global VSAT connectivity. KVH’s VSAT systems 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 box. The ICM also receives onboard news, entertainment, and operations content sent via KVH’s IP-MobileCast™ content delivery service.
KVH applies innovation to maritime services as well; in 2017, KVH launched AgilePlans®, a subscription-based Connectivity as a Service (CaaS) model for the commercial maritime sector. KVH’s all-inclusive, no-commitment AgilePlans CaaS offering includes, for one monthly fee: connectivity via the mini-VSAT Broadband satellite network; a TracPhone V-series satellite communications antenna with free installation in select ports; news and training content delivered via satellite; and delivery of chart and weather content. The AgilePlans program has proven so successful that in the fourth quarter of 2018, it accounted for more than 62 percent of KVH’s total commercial maritime VSAT shipments.
Executive Comment
Martin Kits van Heyningen, KVH’s CEO, said that ever since the company launched the mini-VSAT Broadband network more than 10 years ago, the firm's antenna systems have been in demand by the maritime industry. KVH's solution is known for fast data speeds, affordable airtime, and an advanced, secure, and reliable network, which continues to be a winning combination as the maritime industry relies more and more on connectivity.