KVH Watch® Offers Remote Expert Intervention for Real-time Support at Sea Using High-speed Satellite Connectivity

Maritime innovator KVH’s VSAT-based IoT offerings are designed for deep sea use by equipment manufacturers and commercial vessels


MIDDLETOWN, R.I., June 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI), a global leader of maritime satellite connectivity, announced today that it is expanding its high-speed VSAT-based Internet of Things (IoT) services, which are designed for an era of increased digitalization throughout the maritime industry. With the new offerings, KVH will provide a suite of maritime IoT solutions for everything from remote monitoring to real-time intervention, powered by a high throughput satellite (HTS) network that delivers fast and reliable connectivity worldwide. 

KVH Watch IoT Connectivity as a Service, introduced last year, provides maritime equipment manufacturers, multicard service providers, and shipyards with access to 24/7/365 secure data from onboard equipment. Featuring a dedicated cybersecure terminal, KVH Watch enables an independent, air-gapped data flow that does not use the vessel’s primary satellite communications system.

Adding to the KVH Watch solutions, KVH will offer Remote Expert Intervention, a satellite optimized video collaboration application designed to enable on-demand high-throughput remote support sessions between vessels at sea and experts on shore. The focus on remote collaboration enables maritime equipment manufacturers to use their most experienced experts on shore to give real-time guidance to onboard crew for troubleshooting, repair, and identification of replacement parts that are needed, thereby avoiding costly service calls, minimizing delays in port, and making support more effective.

“By using deep sea transit time, Remote Expert Intervention goes well beyond simply monitoring the performance of onboard equipment,” says Sven-Eric Brooks, KVH’s senior director for IoT business development. “It enables maritime equipment manufacturers to take action and provide real-time support via video, voice, and text, even when the equipment is on a vessel in the middle of the ocean.”

KVH Watch services also include Flow, which provides high-performance connectivity for IoT platforms, and Flow Intervention, which boosts data capacity to speeds as fast as 10/3 Mbps for bulk file transfers, very high-frequency data investigations, and application updates.

Remote support at sea is particularly relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic and for the future of the digital ship as maritime operators seek increased operating efficiencies by adopting a range of digital processes including cloud-based services, telemedicine, video conferencing, virtual payments, and electronic invoicing, according to industry experts. Current IoT solutions that utilize cellular connectivity fall short due to being out of range while at sea and unpredictably expensive when roaming. Solutions relying on L-band suffer from limited and expensive bandwidth; they cannot support high-speed bursts or video sessions at sea.

KVH also offers IoT InsideTM, an IoT solution for vessel operators using their new or existing KVH TracPhone® V7-HTS and TracPhone V11-HTS antenna systems. These systems offer both a high-speed and unlimited use data channel that can be used by vessel managers to provide VSAT connectivity for operations and crew while also supporting data transfers for remote equipment monitoring. Other IoT Inside features include vessel tracking managed through KVH’s secure myKVHTM portal and mini-VSAT ManagerTM, and IoT Proactive Monitoring, which safeguards every fielded KVH HTS terminal with continual performance measurements.

KVH is a mobile tech innovator that provides connectivity solutions for commercial maritime, leisure marine, and land mobile applications on vessels and vehicles, including the award-winning TracPhone and TracVision® product lines, the global mini-VSAT Broadbandsm HTS network, and AgilePlans® Connectivity as a Service (CaaS). The company’s KVH Media Group provides news, sports, and entertainment content with such brands as NEWSlinkTM and SPORTSlinkTM.

Note to Editors: For more information, please visit KVH’s maritime IoT solutions website, kvh.com/IoTsolutions. High-resolution images of KVH products are available at the KVH Press Room Image Library, kvh.com/Press-Room/Image-Library.

About KVH Industries, Inc.
KVH Industries, Inc., is a global leader in mobile connectivity and inertial navigation systems, innovating to enable a mobile world. A market leader in maritime VSAT, KVH designs, manufactures, and provides connectivity and content services globally. KVH is also a premier manufacturer of high-performance sensors and integrated inertial systems for defense and commercial applications. Founded in 1982, the company is based in Middletown, RI, with research, development, and manufacturing operations in Middletown, RI, and Tinley Park, IL, and more than a dozen offices around the globe.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. For example, forward-looking statements include statements regarding the expected competitive advantages of KVH Watch, anticipated date of commercial availability, the scope of services to be offered, the pricing and expected benefits of KVH Watch, and the predicted impact on customer expenditures. Actual results could differ materially from the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Factors that might cause these differences include, but are not limited to: unanticipated technical and other challenges that arise during beta testing and launch of new services; unanticipated technical, legal, and regulatory delays with the launch of the new services; customer response to KVH Watch; potential future changes to the pricing or other terms of KVH Watch; and potential unforeseen costs or expenses of providing the products and services included in KVH Watch subscriptions. These and other factors are discussed in more detail in KVH’s Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on February 28, 2020, and May 1, 2020, respectively. Copies are available through its Investor Relations department and website, https://ir.kvh.com. KVH does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect new information and developments.

KVH Industries, Inc., has used, registered, or applied to register its trademarks in the U.S.A. and other countries around the world, including but not limited to the following marks: KVH, KVH Watch, IoT Inside, TracPhone, myKVH, mini-VSAT Manager, TracVision, mini-VSAT Broadband, AgilePlans, NEWSlink, and SPORTSlink. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies.

For further information, please contact:
Jill Connors
Sr. Manager, Media & Industry Analyst Relations
KVH Industries, Inc.
Tel: +1 401 851 3824
jconnors@kvh.com