KVH Industries has just completed a major upgrade to the mini-VSAT Broadband network that will provide customers in Europe, the Middle East, and northern Africa (EMEA) with a 60% increase in satellite capacity. The added capacity was provided by consolidating bandwidth covering two separate regions into one powerful unified beam, and by implementing Variable Coding, Spreading, and Modulation (VCSM) technology provided by ViaSat, KVH's partner in the mini-VSAT Broadband network.

"We actively monitor and manage our mini-VSAT Broadband network to ensure we are delivering the speeds and quality of service our customers expect," explained Marc Edwards, KVH's director of network operations.

"Rapid growth of our customer base, which now includes well over 2,500 systems in the field, resulted in increased utilization of the network during peak periods in the EMEA region.

"We reconfigured our satellite coverage to more effectively serve this region with a single beam, which allows the ViaSat ArcLight spread spectrum technology used in our network to more efficiently carry the traffic. At the same time we implemented VCSM, and the combination of changes increased our network capacity by 60% overall in the EMEA region."

VCSM will be introduced throughout the remainder of the mini-VSAT Broadband network in coming months. For the new regions upgraded with VCSM, the mini-VSAT Broadband network capacity is anticipated to provide a 60% increase over what is currently delivered with the existing transmission technology.

"One of the significant advantages of providing a fully integrated end-to-end solution where we control both the hardware design and the network architecture is that we are able to continuously enhance the quality of the service we're delivering to our customers and upgrade our equipment in the field with over-the-air modem software updates," said Edwards.

"We also have the ability to dynamically reconfigure the satellite maps used by our onboard terminals, which enables us to load our network evenly and bring additional capacity online whenever and wherever it is needed."

The KVH mini-VSAT Broadband network uses both C-band and Ku-band satellite capacity provided by leading commercial satellite operators including Intelsat, Eutelsat, SES, and SKY Perfect JSAT.

Several of these companies have significant initiatives underway to provide additional satellite capacity over the world's oceans. Currently, 14 powerful satellite transponders deliver KVH's Ku-band capacity, which provides one of the broadest coverage areas of any Ku-band network.

This year, KVH added three global C-band beams to the mini-VSAT Broadband network, making it the first and currently the only modern maritime VSAT service using a 1 meter antenna to provide full global coverage outside of the polar regions.

KVH manufactures three onboard antennas for the mini-VSAT Broadband network - the new enterprise-grade TracPhone V7-IP, the compact TracPhone V3, which is the world's smallest maritime VSAT antenna measuring only 37 cm diameter, and the new dual-mode TracPhone V11, which provides coverage of 95% of the Earth thanks to its ability to receive both C- and Ku-band satellite signals.

The mini-VSAT Broadband service equips vessels with the highest data rates available today, with downloads as fast as 4 Mbps and uploads as fast as 1 Mbps, as well as Voice over IP (VoIP) telephone lines with optimized service and prioritization of applications.

With more than 2,500 onboard terminals sold, mini-VSAT Broadband is the world's fastest growing, most popular maritime VSAT solution, according to three independent industry research reports published in 2012 by Euroconsult, NSR, and Comsys.