KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq:KVHI), announced today that numerous
global fleets have subscribed to or expanded their deployments of
its IP-MobileCastTM content delivery service in recent months,
reflecting the increased importance that ship managers are placing
on the competitive advantages of a focus on staffing
optimization.
Major fleets that have selected the IP-MobileCast content
delivery service recently include:
- Navigator Gas, operator of a fleet of liquefied petroleum gas
(LPG) tankers with worldwide clients, selected IP-MobileCast for 28
vessels.
- OSG Ship Management, one of the world’s leading energy
transportation services companies, has chosen IP-MobileCast for
more than 20 vessels.
- Wisby Ship Management, operator of a global fleet of tankers,
is providing 18 vessels with IP-MobileCast content delivery.
- Klaveness Ship Management, an Oslo, Norway-based global fleet
operator has selected IP-MobileCast for more than 10 vessels in its
container and bulk fleet.
- Valles Steamship (Canada) Ltd., of Vancouver, a long-time
customer of KVH’s mini-VSAT Broadbandsm SATCOM services, recently
added IP-MobileCast content delivery for six vessels.
- United States Seafoods, a major North American seafood company,
has subscribed to IP-MobileCast for three vessels, enabling their
seafarers to receive content via their personal devices.
In addition, Vroon, a global maritime fleet operator, and
Seaspan, a leading independent owner, operator, and manager of
containerships, have continued to add the IP-MobileCast service to
more vessels in their fleets, after being among the earliest
adopters of this innovative content delivery service. More than 65
vessels between the two companies now subscribe to the
IP-MobileCast service.
“The IP-MobileCast service is well-liked and used extensively by
our crewmembers at sea, who tell me they particularly appreciate
the ease of use and the availability of the news, sports, and
entertainment content on smartphones, tablets, and ships’ TVs,”
says David Kramer, director at Seaspan Ship Management, which is
based in Vancouver, British Columbia. “From our point of view, we
see IP-MobileCast as certainly a value-add for the crew, and a draw
card in employment!”
The ability to feel connected to home via news, sports, and
entertainment content – staples of life on land – is undeniably
powerful, as expressed recently by a training officer onboard a
Vroon vessel: “Now we can watch the latest news from the
Philippines. We can feel connected to our loved ones, family, and
friends. Everybody onboard is very happy for the movies subscribed
to by the company,” says Robert Calais, training chief officer
onboard the vessel Iver Best.
“The adoption rate for IP-MobileCast has gained a tremendous
amount of momentum in the last six to eight months, and we are
seeing a number of major fleets adding and expanding the content
delivery service,” says Martin Kits van Heyningen, KVH’s chief
executive officer. “There is simply no other comparable service
available for keeping seafarers informed and entertained on
transoceanic voyages. By providing content at sea, these fleets can
become employers of choice in the competition for the most
competent seafarers, particularly top-notch officers. That in turn
can help reduce costs for recruiting, training, and retention
efforts.”
IP-MobileCast was launched by KVH in 2014 as the first service
to multicast daily news and sports, movies, and TV shows, as well
as operational data via satellite to vessels at sea, without adding
communications costs or affecting vessel communications
performance. The resulting benefits include improvements in cost
containment, crew recruiting and retention, operational efficiency,
and competitive advantage.
The efficiency of the IP-MobileCast service is particularly
appealing to shipmanagers and operators striving to improve
operational efficiency. IP-MobileCast’s multicasting technology is
designed to remove traffic from the vessels’ networks and protect
against the impact of individual crew members each downloading
unlicensed videos or accessing streaming audio or video services
for their personal entertainment.
The news and entertainment content delivered by IP-MobileCast
includes a wealth of options that are typically not available to
mariners at sea. The NEWSlinkTM channel provides daily print and
broadcast news from around the world in dozens of languages;
SPORTSlinkTM provides sports events and highlights; MOVIElinkTM
provides newly released Hollywood and international movies; and,
TVlinkTM offers complete seasons of popular programs.
In addition, shipmanagers and vessel IT directors are seeing the
operational benefits of the IP-MobileCast service as a way to
efficiently and affordably transmit large files such as charts,
weather updates, customer-supplied company-wide video messages,
software updates, and other important operational files. “The
thought of having a completely separate way of transmitting large
files is proving to be a true game-changer in the way fleet
operators are looking at their operations,” says Robert Hopkins,
Jr., KVH’s director of IP-MobileCast services. “Feedback from ship
owners and operators speaks to the excitement the IP-MobileCast
service is generating, where our subscribers tell us they go from
disbelief that multicast content delivery is technically feasible
to high praise for the quality of the results.”
Note to Editors: For more information, please visit KVH’s
IP-MobileCast website. High-resolution images of KVH products are
available at the KVH Press Room Image Library.
About KVH Industries, Inc.KVH Industries is a
leading provider of in-motion satellite TV and communications
systems, having designed, manufactured, and sold more than 200,000
mobile satellite antennas for applications on vessels, vehicles,
and aircraft. KVH is also a leading news, music, and entertainment
content provider to many industries including maritime, retail, and
leisure. VideotelTM, a KVH company, is a market-leading provider of
training films, computer-based training and eLearning. KVH is based
in Middletown, RI, with research, development, and manufacturing
operations in Middletown, RI, and Tinley Park, IL. The company’s
global presence includes offices in Belgium, Brazil, Cyprus,
Denmark, Hong Kong, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the
Philippines, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties. For example, forward-looking
statements include statements regarding our anticipated revenue,
competitive positioning, profitability, product orders, and the
functionality, characteristics, quality, and performance of KVH
products and services. The actual results we achieve could differ
materially from the statements made in this press release. Factors
that might cause these differences include, but are not limited to:
potential reduced sales to companies in or dependent upon the
turbulent oil and gas industry; the impact of extended economic
weakness on the sale and use of marine vessels; the need for, or
delays in, qualification of products to customer or regulatory
standards; unanticipated declines or changes in customer demand,
due to economic, seasonal, and other factors; and increased price
and service competition in the mobile communications markets. These
and other factors are discussed in more detail in KVH’s most recent
Form 10-Q filed with the SEC. KVH does not assume any obligation to
update its forward-looking statements to reflect new information
and developments.
KVH, IP-MobileCast, NEWSlink, SPORTSlink,
MOVIElink, TVlink, and Videotel are trademarks of KVH Industries,
Inc. mini-VSAT Broadband is a service mark of KVH Industries, Inc.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective
companies.
For further information, please contact:
Jill Connors
Media Relations & Industry Analyst Manager
KVH Industries, Inc.
Tel: +1 401 851 3824
jconnors@kvh.com
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