The Safmarine Bayette vessel enters the Gibraltar Strait. Photo: E.R. Schiffahrt/Adrian Catalin.

Global ship manager E.R. Schiffahrt has chosen KVH’s new TracPhone V7-HTS antenna equipment and the AgilePlans subscription-based Connectivity as a Service (CaaS) program to bring global connectivity to its container and dry bulk vessels. Installations for the first 11 vessels have begun, with plans for a total of up to 60 vessels throughout 2018.

The AgilePlans program provides equipment and airtime for one monthly airtime fee; installation at select ports and maintenance costs are included. KVH designed the TracPhone V7-HTS for the mini-Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) Broadband network, which recently added High Throughout Satellite (HTS) capacity. The 60-cm TracPhone V7-HTS provides download speeds of up to 10 Mbps and upload speeds of 3 Mbps, enabling vessels to benefit from marine applications designed to improve operational efficiency, KVH stated.

KVH introduced the AgilePlans program for CaaS in 2017 as a maritime mini-VSAT solution for commercial fleets. This subscription-based business model is designed to address challenges faced by the maritime industry, such as the capital expense of new equipment and the unpredictability of fleet size and business conditions.

In addition to including installation and technical support, onboard hardware, and high-speed airtime, AgilePlans also includes the IP-MobileCast content delivery service for daily Newslink content for crew welfare; a package of 20 Videotel maritime training videos; delivery of chart and weather updates via Chartlink and Forecastlink; and real-time vessel tracking.