[SatNews] To meet the demands of a growing international commercial subscriber base, KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI) has completed a major capacity increase across three key regions of the mini-VSAT Broadband satellite communications network.

With this latest boost, KVH and its partner, ViaSat, Inc. (Nasdaq: VSAT), doubled the mini-VSAT Broadband network’s capacity in the Asian, African, and the West Indian ocean regions, including waters off the coasts Australia and New Zealand. Thanks to this expansion, new and existing commercial fishing, shipping, and oil and gas vessels, along with naval units, will continue to enjoy optimal satellite communications service via the mini-VSAT Broadband network. “This capacity expansion is another key step in our strategic growth plan for mini-VSAT Broadband,” explains Brent Bruun, KVH’s vice president for satellite product sales and business development. “We recognize that all three of these regions are being travelled more frequently by commercial and military vessels equipped with TracPhone V7 systems. We are confident that KVH and ViaSat’s proactive expansion of capacity in key regions will ensure outstanding service for our customers who travel there.”

The mini-VSAT Broadband network was designed from the ground up to be the first next-generation maritime satellite communications solution. Offering service and performance superior to traditional maritime VSAT services through a global spread spectrum satellite network, it also includes the rugged KVH TracPhone V7, the first FCC-approved 24-inch (60 cm) VSAT antenna. Already the fastest growing maritime VSAT solution, mini-VSAT Broadband’s seamless worldwide network is delivered by 13 satellite transponders and 10 secure earth stations and offers voice service and Internet access as fast as 512 Kbps (upload) and 2 Mbps (download) with significant cost savings compared to competing services.