Five Questions With: Brent Bruun

Brent Bruun, executive vice president – mobile broadband group for KVH Industries, a provider of in-motion satellite TV and communications systems in Middletown, talks about the company and emerging trends in the maritime industry and the demand for connectivity at sea. KVH was formed in 1982; its first product was a digital compass for sailboats. While it still produces digital compasses, they are more likely part of advanced fiber optic gyro-based navigation systems used on military vehicles, android robots and self-driving cars. The company provides everything from maritime satellite television services and a satellite communications network to educational videos for seafarers and tactical navigation products for the military.

PBN: How has “big data” affected maritime operations? (A lot has changed since the company was formed in 1982 — can you talk about that?)
BRUUN:
Things have definitely changed for the maritime world since 1982 – just as life and business on land have been transformed. Over the past 33 years, we’ve seen the invention of personal computers, the Internet, social media, smartphones, tablets, cloud-based applications, GPS and digital satellite TV. KVH is heavily involved in each and every one of these major areas.
KVH’s satellite TV products, called TracVision, were made possible by new satellite TV services that could be received by something smaller than an 8-foot wide antenna. When DIRECTV launched their “pizza-sized dish” in 1994, KVH was working with one of their founders to develop the first TracVision product for his yacht. Today we’ve got better than 85 percent market share in the U.S., and you can see TracVision domes on boats in Newport Harbor all summer long.
In terms of big data, that is a more recent phenomenon. We started our maritime satellite communications network in 2007, and our mini-VSAT Broadband service is now in use around the world, bringing satellite Internet and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone services to thousands of yachts and commercial vessels. KVH is the global leader in the maritime VSAT market as well according to all of the leading research reports.
Maritime operators are just now realizing how much they need connectivity to utilize the benefits of big data – for everything from more efficient voyage planning (which reduces fuel consumption) to more frequent chart data updates for electronic navigation systems. Ships can also use big data to enable remote monitoring of the complex equipment on commercial vessels, which reduces maintenance and repair costs. But making use of big data is dependent on having reliable connectivity on the vessel.

PBN: Your comments at the recent CMA Shipping 2015 conference in Stamford, Conn. were interesting — you said that today’s seafarers demand better connections to their homes – access to the Internet and social media while at sea, in addition to access to news, movies, television shows and music, “all of which must be licensed.” Has being connected to the Internet become a necessity on all kinds of ships — from luxury yachts to fishing boats?
BRUUN:
Internet access is in great demand on yachts and vessels today for many reasons, from safety and crew welfare to operational efficiency. It is widely accepted that every aspect of the maritime operation will experience enhanced efficiency and a better quality of life at sea when a ship is equipped with high-speed Internet access.
New regulations and the demands of a new generation of seafarers are the two big factors driving companies to make the decision to upgrade their vessels’ access to broadband data connectivity. Regulations are either already in place or coming into effect in the next few years calling for everything from the need for more training onboard vessels to a minimum standard of crew welfare, which often translates to Internet access for the crew.
The most effective way to meet regulations and operate efficiently involves broadband connectivity on the vessel. A new report from Crewtoo, the online social network for seafarers (and part of KVH Media Group), just came out stating that some seafarers feel strongly enough about the issue of Internet access that they may lobby the International Maritime Organisation to enact legislation so every vessel and seafarer has Internet access.
For private yachts, the need for broadband connectivity is prompted by lifestyle and the desire for Internet access so that yacht owners can stay in touch with home or office no matter where they are. Boat owners have actually found that they can spend more time on the water as long as they are connected and able to deal with any issues that arise on land.

PBN: Why is it difficult for the maritime industry to attract and retain quality crew members?
BRUUN:
The industry is facing many challenges in terms of attracting and retaining crew. Ships are becoming increasingly complex in terms of equipment and systems, so crew members need to be highly skilled, which takes years of training. At the same time, younger seafarers may hesitate to commit to a career at sea because of the isolation. Enduring months at sea, cut off from regular contact with family and friends and life back home, may have been accepted as a necessary part of the job by older seafarers, but such a life won’t be acceptable to much of the younger generation. Young people raised with modern communications and Internet access will not choose careers offshore where they are forced to live “offline” for extended periods of time. Companies that offer these modern services onboard their vessels will have a distinct competitive advantage in attracting and retaining the most qualified seafarers over competitors who do not.

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PBN: What sectors does KVH serve? Is the military still a major customer? What is your most popular product?
BRUUN:
KVH Industries is active in many markets and segments: Our TracVision satellite television antenna systems are award-winning products that are used on superyachts, commercial vessels, Coast Guard and Navy vessels, recreational vehicles, buses and even automobiles. Since more vessels use satellite television than any other satellite service, these are by far our best-selling maritime products, although more of our overall revenues come from satellite communications products due to their higher cost and the fact customers also buy airtime and other related services from KVH.
Our TracPhone satellite communications systems and mini-VSAT Broadband service are found on superyachts and commercial and government vessels, and are also used by the oil and gas industry for exploration work in remote locations on land where cell phone coverage isn’t reliable. The U.S. Coast Guard became and still is our largest mini-VSAT Broadband customer, when they awarded us a $42 million 10-year contract five years ago to equip up to 200 of their cutters with our service.
In addition to the satellite products, KVH also produces extremely precise fiber optic gyro products and inertial measurement units for sensors found in robotics, driverless cars and many unmanned applications. For years, we have also had a very solid military tactical navigation product called TACNAV, which is used in military vehicles around the world.

PBN: Do you have a lot of competition?
BRUUN:
There are competitors in all of our markets and they tend to be companies located in other parts of the country or abroad. In the satellite TV market we have competitors in Asia working hard to copy our designs and disrupt our business. In the satellite communications market, there are 100 other companies trying to sell maritime VSAT systems. Only 10 or so account for most of the market, but it is still very competitive. We are truly a global company now, with sales offices around the world, so we compete on a global basis with companies based here in the U.S., in Europe and from Korea and China.
We compete in all of our markets by trying to offer our customers unique features and a differentiated solution that translates to better value. For example, no other global player in maritime connectivity offers the complete solution we have: We not only develop and manufacture SATCOM antenna equipment (our TracPhone line), we also operate our own global satellite network (mini-VSAT Broadband), and we not only deliver entertainment and operations content to vessels at sea via our own network, we also own the companies that produce the content. That includes maritime training materials from Videotel, a London-based company KVH acquired last year, and content from the U.K.-based KVH Media Group, which produces newspapers under the NEWSlink brand, and licenses Hollywood movies and TV shows for viewing onboard vessels. By controlling all of the variables, we are able to innovate more quickly and offer a better user experience than competitors who only produce a part of the overall solution or who are trying to put together a building-block solution using other manufacturers’ equipment.

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