For the second time in as many months, the mini-VSAT Broadbandsm
service from KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq:KVHI) has been
recognized as the most widely used maritime VSAT (Very Small
Aperture Terminal) service in the world. This conclusion was made
in the 8th edition of the "Mobile Satellite Services" report just
published by leading international research and analysis firm,
Northern Sky Research (NSR).
"With an estimated count of nearly 30% of the units in the
market, KVH has taken the low-ARPU/high-volume market by storm,"
reported NSR analyst Claude Rousseau, referring to the Ku-band
maritime VSAT market. "It has gained sizable orders from shipping
companies, U.S. Government agencies, and fleet owners with a
near-global coverage that was extended to South America and to oil
and gas offshore platform markets off the coast of Brazil. With an
order in March 2012 for mini-VSAT Broadband systems for V.Ships, a
ship manager with over 1,000 vessels, KVH is set to become a
standard in the maritime communications market."
According to the new NSR report, KVH's mini-VSAT Broadband
service accounted for nearly 30% of all Ku-band maritime VSAT units
and more than 20% of all activated maritime VSAT units of all
frequencies. In late March, the internationally recognized research
firm Euroconsult also concluded that KVH had more users than any
other maritime VSAT provider. In a crowded market with more than 70
competitors, KVH's meteoric rise to the top of the market only four
years after launching its new mini-VSAT Broadband service is a
textbook case of leveraging new technology to compete with
entrenched competitors.
Maritime VSAT services are a relatively new form of satellite
communications that use powerful FSS (Fixed Satellite Service) C-,
Ku-, and Ka-band satellites to provide two-way voice and data
connectivity to ships at sea. Prior to the introduction of VSAT
into the maritime markets, vessels were limited to MSS (Mobile
Satellite Service) L-band satellites, which used lower frequencies
that could be received by relatively small and low-priced onboard
terminals, but had prohibitively expensive airtime service that
could cost customers $20 per megabyte or more to transmit. Early
maritime VSATs offered faster, higher quality service that was a
small fraction of the cost of MSS services, but required large and
complex antennas to precisely aim at closely spaced satellites
originally designed to provide service to stationary locations on
land.
In 2007, KVH leveraged its maritime satellite antenna expertise
and a new form of spread spectrum modem designed specifically for
mobile use by its technology partner, ViaSat (Nasdaq:VSAT), to
develop the mini-VSAT Broadband service and the ultra-compact
TracPhone® V7 onboard terminal. The advantage of ViaSat's ArcLight®
spread spectrum technology is that it enables economical
multimegabit FSS transmissions to be received and transmitted by
revolutionarily small and affordable antennas. Thus, KVH and ViaSat
created a new category of satellite communications service that
offers maritime customers the speed and economy of FSS maritime
VSAT service with equipment that is compact and cost-effective,
like MSS services.
Over the past 4 years, KVH has taken advantage of new commercial
satellite coverage over the oceans to create a seamless web of
multimegabit service. Fourteen Ku-band satellite transponders are
already online, creating one of the widest Ku-band networks in the
industry. The company's TracPhone V3, with a 37 cm antenna, and its
enterprise-grade TracPhone V7, which uses a 60 cm antenna, provide
service throughout the Ku-band portion of the network. Earlier this
year, KVH announced that three global C-band transponders will be
added this summer, providing an overlay on the Ku-band service.
With the C-band overlay, the mini-VSAT Broadband network will cover
95% of the earth, including all of the world's major shipping
lanes, popular fishing regions, and offshore oil fields. The
company's new TracPhone V11 dual-mode system will be able to
seamlessly switch between C- and Ku-band service. To date, KVH has
shipped more than 2,000 TracPhone terminals for the mini-VSAT
Broadband network.
"Our strategy from the launch of the mini-VSAT Broadband
service four-and-a-half years ago has been to create a single,
global satellite communications network that delivers very fast,
very high quality, reasonably priced broadband service to all types
of vessels, using onboard terminals that are small and easy to
install," commented Martin Kits van Heyningen, KVH's CEO. "Our
initial market research clearly showed that customers using
traditional maritime L-band services felt the costs were
prohibitively expensive or data speeds too slow for their
networking requirements. We've leveraged a new generation of spread
spectrum technology to bring our customers the best of all worlds –
fast, high quality, global multimegabit service delivered to small,
affordable onboard terminals. It's exciting both to have
accelerating sales and to be acknowledged as being in the
leadership position in the growing maritime VSAT market."
KVH is the only maritime VSAT provider to manufacture its own
fully integrated onboard terminal, own and operate a global VSAT
network, and provide worldwide 24/7/365 after-sale support. In
2010, the company acquired the Norwegian maritime network
management company Virtek, and has incorporated its CommBox™
ship/shore network manager into the end-to-end TracPhone solution
for the mini-VSAT Broadband service. KVH's mini-VSAT Broadband
service delivered more than 100 terabytes of data in 2011 and more
than two million voice calls, and had a network uptime of 99.5%,
which is among the best in the industry.
Please visit www.minivsat.com/one for full details about the KVH
mini-VSAT Broadband service and the TracPhone V-series product
line.
Complete details on the Northern Sky Research report, "Mobile
Satellite Services, 8th Edition" are available at www.nsr.com.
Note to Editors: High-resolution, press-ready images of the
mini-VSAT Broadband coverage map and the TracPhone V-series product
line are available at http://press.kvh.com for download and
editorial use.
About KVH Industries, Inc.
KVH Industries, Inc., is the leading provider of in-motion
satellite television and communications systems, having designed,
manufactured, and sold more than 150,000 mobile satellite antennas
for applications on vessels, vehicles, and aircraft. KVH's mission
is to connect mobile customers around the globe with the same
digital television entertainment, communications, and Internet
services that they enjoy in their homes and offices. The company is
based in Middletown, RI, with facilities in Illinois, Denmark,
Norway, and Singapore.
This release may contain certain forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements
include, for example, the functionality, characteristics, quality,
and performance of KVH's products and technology; anticipated
innovation and product development; and customer preferences,
requirements, and expectations. The actual results could differ
materially. Factors that may cause such differences include, among
others, those discussed in KVH's most recent Form 10-K filed with
the SEC. KVH does not assume any obligation to update its
forward-looking statements to reflect new information or
developments.
KVH, TracPhone, and CommBox are trademarks of KVH Industries,
Inc. "mini-VSAT Broadband" is a service mark of KVH Industries,
Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective
companies.
CONTACT: Nicole Mongillo
KVH Industries, Inc.
401-845-2443
nmongillo@kvh.com
KVH Industries (NASDAQ:KVHI)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
KVH Industries (NASDAQ:KVHI)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024