Rhode Island, US-headquartered KVH Industries has become a distribution partner for Eutelsat OneWeb low earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications
KVH will offer these low-latency connectivity services through flat-panel terminals for commercial shipping, offshore support and leisure vessels to supplement connections using KVH’s very small aperture terminals (VSATs), which communicate with geosynchronous satellites in higher orbit than LEO units.
“Adding Eutelsat OneWeb to our hybrid portfolio helps deliver on our commitment to provide outstanding connectivity, content and services via our KVH One integrated multi-orbit, multi-channel solution,” said KVH president and chief executive Brent Bruun.
“LEO technology will complement, enhance and extend our network’s existing hybrid services and enable low-latency connectivity for mariners worldwide.”
KVH is a distributor of Starlink and Iridium Certus LEO solutions as part of its hybrid network and can provide connectivity over 5G and long-term evolution networks.
Mr Bruun told Riviera Maritime Media flat-panel antennas will be manufactured and supplied by Kymeta and Intellian, and OneWeb global services will be available from Q2 2024.
“OneWeb will be available to existing and new customers,” he said. “We have tested OneWeb remotely from our offices in Rhode Island and on our own vessels.”
KVH supplies and installs its own TracNet and TracPhone terminals and onboard hardware for VSAT, with antennas built in three sizes to deliver Ku-band connectivity, mostly over Intelsat’s satellites, providing widebeam coverage and spot beams of high throughput.
OneWeb’s network compromises more than 630 LEO satellites to deliver enterprise-grade broadband connectivity services.
“In partnership with KVH, we will deliver on customers’ demand for technology and data at a time when there is pressure across the maritime industry to improve sustainability and governance standards and operational performance, all of which is underpinned by good connectivity,” said Eutelsat OneWeb vice president for maritime and Europe, Carole Plessy.
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