[Satellite TODAY 02-07-13] KVH Industries has shipped its 3,000th TracPhone terminal for the mini-VSAT Broadband network. The company’s mini-VSAT Broadband network uses a combination of 14 Ku-band transponders to provide coverage throughout the northern hemisphere and all of the major continents in the southern hemisphere. 

   “We built the mini-VSAT Broadband network because we saw a huge opportunity from a potential market of 250,000 commercial, government, and leisure vessels that needed affordable offshore data connections that would allow crew members to use the Internet onboard and benefit from the efficiencies of the digital world,” said Martin Kits van Heyningen, KVH’s CEO.
   KVH designs and manufactures the onboard TracPhone terminals and antennas, owns the Earth station equipment, leases the satellite capacity, and manages the network, providing a complete, end-to-end solution for offshore connectivity. By leveraging spread spectrum modem technology from ViaSat, KVH can offer terminals with antennas that are 85 percent smaller.