New Mobile Broadband/Internet Available in Pacific Area
Source: www.voip-news.com
Mini-VSAT Broadband network is now available in the Pacific Ocean region. The service is intended to bring broadband telephone and internet services to vessels and jets crossing the ocean. The coverage area includes Alaska, the west coasts of the US and Canada, Hawaii and some of Asia.
“We have now successfully rolled out a single, unified broadband service across roughly two-thirds of the world’s major shipping and aeronautical lanes, enabling us to offer commercial, leisure, and government customers a unique mobile communications hardware and service solution,” said Martin Kits van Heyningen, KVH’s chief executive officer. “Our goal, as we enter 2009, is to complete our global mini-VSAT Broadband network and support the growing demand for faster, more affordable data and voice connections for people on the move.”
According to the company:
The mini-VSAT Broadband service, along with the KVH TracPhone(R) V7 antenna, comprise the first end-to-end 24-inch VSAT hardware, service, and support package available for maritime communications and offers Voice over IP phone service and Internet access as fast as 512 Kbps (upload) and 2 Mbps (download) at fixed monthly rates. The compact TracPhone V7 −- 75% lighter and 85% smaller by volume than traditional 1-meter VSAT antennas -− brings a blend of the economy and speed of VSAT communications with lower costs and easier installation to smaller vessels, making the system exceptionally well suited for commercial fishing boats, leisure yachts, government vessels, and commercial operations.
“The success and growth of this Ku-band satellite broadband service, built on the foundation of our ArcLight(R) technology, has created pent up demand for services over the Pacific and into Asia,” said Don Buchman, ViaSat’s director for mobile broadband. “In addition to opening up service to current customers, we expect the expansion of the mobile network to attract new customers as well.”
