KVH Industries headquarters. Photo: KVH Industries

Maritime connectivity provider KVH Industries signed a bulk data distribution deal with SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, prepaying for a block of Starlink data. KVH previously had an agreement with Starlink but said this deal is a “greatly expanded relationship.” 

KVH announced Tuesday that it prepaid for access to a large block of Starlink data “at favorable rates” over a period of more than a year. The company now has greater flexibility to develop and sell custom airtime plans with Starlink’s mobile priority service. KVH is also adding the Starlink standard flat-panel terminals to its product offering. 

KVH CEO Brent Bruun said in a release that Starlink is one of the fastest growing products in company history. He reported that KVH nearly doubled antenna shipments and activations in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the fourth quarter of 2023.

“Mariners are turning to KVH as they recognize the benefits we offer, both as an expert in Starlink data plans, activations, installation, and support as well as our live airtime and technical support,” Bruun said. “Our customers’ interest in Starlink continues to rise due to its reliably high speeds, low latency, and affordable data.” 

KVH, which also has a distribution agreement for Eutelsat OneWeb capacity, has integrated Starlink with other satellite services, along with terrestrial 5G services to create a global communications network. Earlier this year, the company said it was stepping away from hardware manufacturing to focus on its position as a hardware-agnostic multi-orbit connectivity provider.