Mobilecast Service News

KVH Industries, Inc. expanded the capacity of its mini-VSAT Broadband network with two upgrades recently, supporting growing customer demand for broadband at sea. One expansion added a new satellite beam that doubled the mini-VSAT Broadband network capacity in the North Atlantic Ocean region, including Canada’s Hudson Bay. The second expansion added a new beam across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa to add 30 percent more capacity across areas such as the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

Competition in the maritime communications sector is fierce, and ship owners are the winners as service from land-to-sea is becoming faster and cheaper. MR spoke with KVH’s Jim Dodez in Athens at Posidonia for his insights on the present and future of connectivity at sea. More than ever ships at sea demand “land-like” connectivity to the internet. Whether the purpose is maritime business or a content crew, companies such as KVH are growing their business and product portfolios at an equally rapid clip.

KVH Industries is a manufacturer of solutions that provide global high-speed Internet, television, and voice services via satellite to mobile users at sea and on land. These solutions include the mini-VSAT Broadband network, TracPhone satellite communications antenna systems, and TracVision satellite television antenna systems. KVH is based in Middletown, RI, with research, development, and manufacturing operations in Middletown, RI, and Tinley Park, IL. KVH’s mission is to connect in-motion customers…

KVH Industries, Inc., and Transas announced today a strategic relationship designed to ensure vessels at sea receive affordable, timely updates of mandatory electronic chart data. The CHARTlink channel of KVH’s IP-MobileCast content delivery service will support delivery of chart and other data updates from Transas, a producer of electronic chart display and information systems (ECDIS) and a leading provider of electronic navigation charts (ENC) and data services. This is the first of many steps envisioned by Transas for delivery of value-added data for shipboard use with the IP-MobileCast service. International maritime regulations mandate the use of ECDIS for commercial and passenger vessels.

KVH Industries, Inc., (KVHI) today announced that it has acquired Videotel, a producer of training films and e-Learning services for the commercial maritime industry. Videotel services more than 11,000 vessels in the provision of maritime training services, offering video, animation, e-Learning computer-based training (CBT) and interactive distance learning courses. “The acquisition of Videotel is an important addition to our portfolio of services targeting the needs of commercial…

Applied Weather Technology, Inc. (AWT), a StormGeo company, today announced a partnership with KVH Industries, Inc. to deliver AWT’s BVS high-resolution weather data via the KVH IP-MobileCast WEATHERlink service. AWT’s BVS 7 weather forecasts and ocean data will be delivered to vessels at sea via KVH IP-MobileCast, a service utilizing multicasting technology for a low fixed monthly fee. The data will be updated up to four times per day to help ships optimize voyage planning and safety. The BVS 7 voyage optimization system provides on-board and around-the-clock weather-routing information. KVH’s IP-MobileCast content delivery service will provide captains access to BVS 7’s global…

KVH says it plans to offer affordable delivery of AWT’s global weather data to subscribing vessels over the mini-VSAT Broadband network. KVH Industries explains that it has become the WEATHERlink launch partner for KVH’s IP-MobileCast content delivery service. KVH will use IP-MobileCast multicasting technology, to deliver AWT’s high-resolution weather and ocean data to ships at sea for a low fixed monthly fee. AWT is a marine industry leader in weather forecasting and ship routing. The AWT data, which includes forecasts with wind, wave, visibility, and currents with tidal stream data, will be updated up to four times per day to help ships optimize voyage planning and safety.

The IP-MobileCast content delivery service developed by KVH Industries, Inc., for its mini-VSAT Broadband satellite network is now live, constituting a maritime industry first that will enable seafarers in the middle of the ocean to have affordable access to daily digital newspapers, television news, sports updates, music, new-release blockbuster movies and TV programs via a multicasting service. KVH  recently completed successful beta testing of IP-MobileCast, and is making the…

KVH Industries, Inc. was chosen by BW, a worldwide maritime energy transportation company, as the satellite communications solution for its Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) fleet. BW’s vessels will use KVH’s advanced, dual-mode TracPhone V11-IP onboard satellite communications system and mini-VSAT Broadband service for the “always-on” broadband connectivity that is essential for today’s commercial maritime operations. BW recently completed field trials of the TracPhone V11-IP system…

KVH Industries, Inc., is implementing a detailed four-part strategy aimed to bring a variety of economical & convenient content services to mariners for the first time. Martin Kits van Heyningen, President and CEO of KVH Industries, gave details of his plans at the Digital Ship Maritime CIO Forum at the current Nor-Shipping expo in Oslo. The Four-Part Strategy Includes enhancing mini-VSAT Broadband Network Capacity, introducing new TracPhone V-IP Terminals with integrated CommBox Modem (ICM), launching new IP-MobileCast content delivery service, and acquiring leading content provider Headland Media. "Our goal is to offer our customers economical access to all the data they want and need onboard their vessels," concluded Mr. Kits van Heyningen.

KVH Industries, Inc., announced at the international maritime Nor-Shipping show in Oslo, Norway that it plans to launch a new IP-MobileCast content delivery service that will deliver Jeppesen's entire ENC and Professional+ chart databases to mini-VSAT Broadband customers. Based on ongoing cooperative efforts between KVH and Jeppesen, it is anticipated that this new service will enable automatic delivery of electronic charts over a very reliable satellite delivery service, eliminating the time-consuming, manual process of physically shipping DVDs containing chart updates to customers' ships. "The launch of KVH's new IP-MobileCast service is expected to offer tremendous value in delivering large files such as chart databases to vessels…