Leisure and commercial mariners will have access to affordable cell phone service offshore and around the globe
KOKKEDAL, DENMARK – As part of an effort to bring convenient communications to mariners worldwide, KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI) and On-Waves Ehf are partnering to make cell phone service at sea a reality for crew and passengers on vessels around the globe. Using KVH’s mini-VSAT Broadbandsm network and TracPhone® V7 satellite communications system along with the On-Waves maritime cell phone service, crew members, passengers, and onboard contractors can easily and affordably use their own cell phones to make and receive calls to and from anywhere in the world. Cell phones alone usually lose reception about 15 miles offshore, when vessels travel outside the range of land-based cell towers.
“We are very excited to offer the On-Waves solution to our TracPhone V7 and mini-VSAT Broadband users,” says Martin Kits van Heyningen, chief executive officer of KVH Industries. “By pairing On-Waves’ picocell technology with the TracPhone V7 and our global mini-VSAT Broadband network, we are essentially turning leisure and commercial vessels into secure maritime cell towers. The addition of GSM and CDMA cell phone service will expand the versatility of our TracPhone V7 and the mini-VSAT Broadband network and increase their value to ship owners and operators who need to stay connected at sea. This is a huge improvement in the convenience of maritime communications, and we’re happy to work with On-Waves to bring it to our customers.”
“KVH is a leader in our market and we are very proud to work with them to offer our maritime GSM and CDMA services to mini-VSAT Broadband customers,” explains Constantin Simeonidis, chief executive officer of On-Waves. “Most people take high speed connections and mobile phones for granted on land, but the maritime industry has been without these conveniences for far too long. By joining our efforts, On-Waves and KVH can now bridge this gap and bring the very best satellite communications to crew, staff and guests. The trust of a global leader like KVH Industries is a great endorsement of the reliability of our maritime services and we are highly honored.”
On-Waves’ maritime GSM service works by allowing any crew member, passenger, or contractor to purchase a dedicated SIM card, pop it into their cell phone, and use that phone on a moving ship, anywhere in the world, just as they would at home. For one low, fixed price per minute, they can call anywhere they like without paying additional long distance charges. For customers preferring to use their own cellular service companies, On-Waves has maritime roaming agreements with over 450 GSM and CDMA service providers around the globe – these technologies provide service for over 85% of the world’s 3.3 billion cell phone users. In addition to offering convenient, easy to use service, the On-Waves equipment is also unobtrusive and easy to install. It includes a picocell, a small piece of hardware mounted on the exterior of the ship, and compact belowdecks hardware used to transmit calls over the mini-VSAT Broadband network.
The mini-VSAT Broadband service, along with the KVH TracPhone V7 antenna, comprise the first end-to-end 24-inch VSAT antenna, service, and support package available for maritime communications. Seven secure earth stations around the globe, together with seven of the world's most powerful communications satellites, bring affordable, high-speed Internet connections and crystal clear voice service to maritime customers through the KVH mini-VSAT Broadband network.
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