Comtech subsidiary in deal to improve ship-tracking

Melville-based Comtech Telecommunications Corp. says one of its subsidiaries has teamed up with a South Korean maritime antenna maker to create a better satellite-based communications system.

The two companies said their combined products will help shipping companies ensure "on-the-move satellite communications for oceanic vessels" during rough seas, and as they cross satellite coverage area boundaries. The antennas carry voice, data, broadband and television signals.

Comtech EF Data Corp., the Tempe, Ariz., subsidiary, and the Korean company, KNS Inc., of DaeJeon, did not disclose financial terms of the deal in a Tuesday news release.

The KNS communications system, its SuperTrack Series of marine stabilized antenna systems, will be marketed together with Comtech's ROSS Open Antenna Management system.

"The integration will enable the SuperTrack antenna systems on maritime vessels to roam across multiple satellite beams, maintaining connectivity moving through different satellite footprints and enhancing communication capabilities at sea," Comtech said.

"KNS's SuperTrack Series of VSATs are in use and constantly challenged in the roughest seas all over the world," Comtech said. "Based on exclusive technologies, the highly advanced stabilized antennas are the most reliable and high performing maritime antennas in the market."

Photo: Comtech chief executive Fred Kornberg.