[SatNews] To serve its growing commercial maritime customer base in the Asia-Pacific region, KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq:KVHI) has doubled the service delivered by the JCSAT-1B satellite, which is part of KVH's mini-VSAT Broadband(sm) network.
This additional capacity, available as of last month, will support mariners in the Asia-Pacific region, which includes some of the world's busiest shipping routes, and is one of the fastest-growing areas in the world for maritime broadband demand.
"The additional capacity for JCSAT-1B dramatically enhances the ability of our mini-VSAT Broadband network to support existing and future subscribers," explained Brent C. Bruun, executive vice president of KVH's Mobile Broadband Group. "Designed to offer service and performance superior to traditional maritime VSAT services, the network is built upon a robust, flexible architecture, permitting us to quickly and easily expand the service. Most importantly, commercial, leisure, and government mariners who rely on mini-VSAT Broadband for their Internet and voice connections will enjoy the benefit from these enhancements almost immediately."
An advantage of the mini-VSAT Broadband service is that existing TracPhone(R) V-series and V-IP series terminals will automatically be able to access the additional capacity when they receive a simple, over-the-air software update. The mini-VSAT Broadband network is part of KVH's end-to-end satellite communications solution, which also includes the new TracPhone V-IP series of onboard antenna systems. Designed to take advantage of advanced spread spectrum technology, TracPhone V-IP series antennas are 85% smaller than similar VSAT antennas using older TDMA technology. With downloads as fast as 4 Mbps and uploads as fast as 1 Mbps, TracPhone V-IP series terminals also provide onboard network management and crystal-clear Voice over IP (VoIP) telephone lines with optimized service. Another feature of the mini-VSAT Broadband network is the upcoming IP-MobileCast(TM) content delivery service that KVH recently announced, which will use multicasting technology to bring news, sports, movies, chart updates, and more to subscribing vessels.
The new satellite capacity in Asia is the latest in a series of recent network enhancements made by KVH to help maintain a high quality of service for its rapidly growing customer base. In July, KVH announced deployment of Variable Coding, Spreading, and Modulation (VCSM) technology provided by ViaSat, Inc., (Nasdaq:VSAT), KVH's partner in the mini-VSAT Broadband network. KVH's mini-VSAT Broadband network is the world's leading maritime VSAT choice, according to three independent industry research reports published in 2012 by Euroconsult, NSR, and Comsys.
