KVH to Transmit AWT Weather Data
KVH says it plans to offer affordable delivery of AWT’s global weather data to subscribing vessels over the mini-VSAT Broadband network.
KVH Industries explains that it has become the WEATHERlink launch partner for KVH’s IP-MobileCast content delivery service. KVH will use IP-MobileCast multicasting technology, to deliver AWT’s high-resolution weather and ocean data to ships at sea for a low fixed monthly fee.
AWT is a marine industry leader in weather forecasting and ship routing. The AWT data, which includes forecasts with wind, wave, visibility, and currents with tidal stream data, will be updated up to four times per day to help ships optimize voyage planning and safety.
The IP-MobileCast service will support AWT’s recent new release, BonVoyage System 7 (BVS 7), a powerful onboard voyage optimization system. With more than 5,000 ships already under contract, AWT is the voyage optimization software market leader. KVH’s content delivery service will also provide AWT’s frequent, detailed port vicinity forecasts as well as pirate attack information and rogue wave forecasts.
The WEATHERlink content delivery is scheduled to begin beta testing this month and to be commercially available by September. All installed KVH TracPhone V-IP series satellite communications systems will support this new content after a free over-the-air software upgrade.
The IP-MobileCast service utilizes multicasting technology to deliver large amounts of content to many ships at once, overcoming the prohibitively high satellite communications costs typically charged to deliver files for individual use. The new service (patent pending) is notable for technological advancements that enable the content to be delivered over the top of KVH’s mini-VSAT Broadband network, while also ensuring that the multicasting transmission does not affect the vessel’s mini-VSAT Broadband onboard data speed.
“IP-MobileCast’s WEATHERlink gives our customers the autonomy to make informed decisions at sea, to optimize passage planning, and to take the ship’s current operating factors into consideration,” says Richard Brown, AWT vice president for products and services.
