News

KVH and On-Waves to offer GSM over mini-VSAT
(Oct  12  2009)

KVH and On-Waves have reached an agreement to offer GSM services to the maritime industry via KVH's mini-VSAT Broadband system.

The system will connect KVH's TracPhone V7 satellite communications system with the On-Waves maritime cell phone service, to allow people on board ships to use their own cell phones to make and receive calls by inserting an On-Waves SIM card.

The service offers a fixed price per minute, so users can avoid additional charges, though customers preferring to use their own cellular service companies will be able to avail of maritime roaming agreements with over 450 GSM and CDMA service providers around the globe.

Installation includes a picocell, a small piece of hardware mounted on the exterior of the ship, and below decks hardware used to transmit calls over the mini-VSAT Broadband network via the 60cm antenna.

"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," said Martin Kits van Heyningen, chief executive officer of KVH.

"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."

Constantin Simeonidis, chief executive officer of On-Waves, added: "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.”

<< FB 8k and 16k streaming available from Vizada
Thrane reaches 5,000 FB terminals >>