KVH installs mini-VSAT system aboard USCG vessel

KVH Industries has installed mini-VSAT broadband system aboard the US Coast Guard’s (USCG) vessel to improve communications capability.

The system has been installed as part of 10-year indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract awarded to the company by the USCG in 2010 to provide TracPhone V7 systems and mini-VSAT Broadband service as the small cutter connectivity (SCC) Ku-band system and air time support services solution.

KVH chief executive officer Martin Kits van Heyningen said mini-VSAT Broadband network provides cost-effective solution to replace expensive legacy services and still provide global coverage for the USCG.

"In the face of rapidly expanding data communications requirements, including real-time use of biometric technology, homeland security efforts, and extended worldwide operations, the U.S. Coast Guard needed a global communications solution robust enough to support these demands and rugged enough for even the most demanding maritime conditions," Heyningen added.

Till date, KVH deployed TracPhone V7 systems on 105 USCG vessels across eight different classes of cutters while mini-VSAT Broadband service provided 29.2 terabytes of data and more than 835,000 Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) minutes.

Currently, the KVH systems are operation aboard USCG’s cutters deployed in the continental US as well as overseas in the Persian Gulf, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

KVH’s mini-VSAT Broadband solution is also used by the US Navy, joint forces, foreign coalition navies, state emergency service organisations, and commercial fleets operating worldwide.

The KVH team for the contract includes ViaSat and Mackay Communications.

Image: A KVH-built TracPhone V7 system. Photo: © 2014 KVH Industries, Inc.