KVH Mini-VSAT Broadband Map. Photo: KVH Industries

[Via Satellite 12-23-2015] KVH Industries has expanded the capacity of its mini-VSAT Broadband for connectivity at sea with a new satellite beam over the North Atlantic Ocean region, and a second new beam across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). The North America beam, which includes Canada’s Hudson Bay, doubles the mini-VSAT broadband network capacity in that region, while the EMEA beam adds 30 percent more capacity across areas such as the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

KVH’s mini-VSAT Broadband network leverages 25 transponders — 22 Ku-band and three in C-band — on 18 satellites to serve customers worldwide. The North Atlantic expansion is in response to customer demand from coastal recreational users and commercial vessels transiting between the United States, Canada, and Europe. The expansion across Europe and the Middle East reflects increased broadband demand onboard a variety of commercial vessels.

Commercial and recreational mariners use the mini-VSAT Broadband network for broadband services that include Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), VPN access, news, television, movie, sports, and music content that is multicast to vessels via KVH’s IP-MobileCast service. The network also supports the IP-MobileCast delivery of onboard training, weather data, and chart update services that reduce operational expenses and improve safety and security.