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36Maritime Reporter & Engineering News SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS ROUNDTABLE FEATURE For instance, along with our rigorous classroom training courses, we have part- nered with GVF to create online trainingmodules for our dealers and their cus-tomers. These types of innovation re- garding service and training, along with product innovation will increase penetra- tion levels in the near future. Harrison, IntellianMarketing and distribution are the common visible growth drivers of any company in this market and we face an ongoing challenge to balance our investment and effort in those two areas. We have established a global presence in just a few years with over 400 dealers and with modern fully owned and equipped facilities staffed with highly trained and experienced teams around the globe. It is crucially im-portant to Intellian to support its distri-bution channels effectively. The global economy overall, and many sectors of the maritime industry, were down in 2011. How has this affected your business? Rodrigues, BoatracsIn a down economy, the focus turns to lowering op- erational costs, increasing vessel produc- tivity, increasing human productivity and generally doing business smarter, often with fewer resources. This is where adop- tion of technology can really make a sig- nificant difference. Because of this, we actually saw an increase in the number of vessels using our satellite communica- tions services as well as an increase insoftware subscriptions. This was driven by the fact that mission critical data can be sent cost effectively through satellite, particularly using a narrowband solution. We serve a broad range of fleet sizes, with a specialty in working with small to medium size companies. Some of thesecustomers pay less than $100 per monthper vessel for airtime using our narrow- band solution bundled with mapping and messaging fleet management software. Dodez, KVHMariners are certainlymore budget-conscious in this economy, which can be a challenge. However, mini-VSAT Broadband offers some of the most competitive airtime rates in the industry as well as competitively priced hardware and an attractive commercial lease program. We are also building a di- versified product line so that any mariner can create a mini-VSAT Broadband solu- tion to fit the needs of their individual vessels. We now have two options for hardware ? the 24-in. (60 cm) TracPhone V7 and new, 14.5-in. (37 cm) TracPhone V3 ? that bring satellite communicationsto any size vessel, along with a number of airtime service plans with options thatwork perfectly for global shipping com- panies and regional, seasonal fishing ves- sels alike. Harrison, IntellianIntellian?s business is growing year over year and 2011 was no exception for us, even though we did see some effects from the global economic situation. A fair amount of our maritime products are purchasedand installed on ships during their con-struction as part of a complete communi-cation package. Nearly half of theworld?s merchant fleet is built in Korea; our heritage and headquarters are basedin Korea and we have established a strong presence at the heart of the shipbuilding community in Busan, Korea with the opening of the Intellian Maritime Tech- nical Center (MTC).Broadhurst, Cobham We did see price pressure. However, we grew in 2011. Since Sea Tel is a privately held company, we do not disclose our finan- cial results to the public. However, in 2011 we shipped more antenna systemsthan in the past, we launched more highperformance products, introduced many new global service and support initiatives to help our channel. Our large and mid size antenna product line were particu- larly successful.How is your company investing? Harrison, IntellianIntellian hasdelivered several innovative products in 2011 and is expanding its portfolio to in- clude C-band, Ku-band, and Ka-band. In- tellian invests over 20% of its profit in R&D but we invest even more in our partners. \What new product or service will you de- liver to the market in the coming 12 months?Harrison, IntellianIntellian isexcited about 2012. Our future new 1 m Ku antennas will be designed from the ground up to accept an easy upgrade kitto transform them into fully fledged highperformance 1m GX Ka-band terminals.This gives end customers the peace of mind and the long term value they asso- ciate with our brand and with our part-ner?s brand. Inmarsat has just recently announced Intellian?s appointment for the development of the Inmarsat GX fam- ily of maritime products; the 60 cm GXterminal as well as the 1 m Ku to GX Ka- band terminal. Intellian will also launchthe Global PLL LNB for our Ku-band VSAT products during January. This new technology enables one LNB to be usedin all regions and with all VSAT satellite frequencies.Broadhurst, Cobham We have an- nounced three new products in the first half of 2012: Sea Tel FX, Sea Tel 4012 and Sea Tel 3011. We will have the full range of FleetBroadband product linebranded as Sea Tel FX. Sea Tel 4012 is our new Ku band 1m system that will be field upgradable to Ka band services. And, 3011 is a 3-axis sub 1m antennasystem for vessel that doesn?t have enough deck space for the 1m system.Jensen, Thrane & Thrane Weare looking at expanding and enhancing our L-Band and SOLAS product portfo-lio with new products and features across the range. Moreover we are looking at taking the investment into the SAILOR 900 VSAT platform into new product areas like Satellite TV as well as Ka- Band.Clark, Deltawave Delta Wave has just opened a Marine Electronics andField Services division. By diversifying into this market and investing in this new direction, we now offer a complete array of services and are now more of a one- stop shop for our maritime customers.By having FCC certified field service personnel constantly on the road, we willbetter serve our existing customers as well as new clients we are now bringing on board. peter broadhurst, cobham satcom marine systems - sea tel products ?The Facebook generation with their needs for multimedia will drive demand for more band- width ? this is and will be an issue for crew retention.? tom clark, deltawave communications ?Providing data connectivity to for vessel crews are increasingly becoming more prevalent for crew morale as VSAT rates are becoming more affordable, along with alternative technologies such as Inmarsat?s new Wimax service.? MR Feb.12 # 5 (34-41):MR Template 2/7/2012 10:38 AM Page 36
