Mariners want their television. Whether at home or on the boat, they want their TV.

“Demand is massive because everyone wants to be connected,” Paul Comyns, vice president, global marketing for Intellian, a company that provides maritime satellite communications antenna technology to the marine industry, said from the floor of the International WorkBoat Show in New Orleans in December, “and that’s now feasible.”

Headquartered in Seoul, Korea, Intellian is a well-established player in the VSAT and TVRO market, exporting its products to six continents and over 45 countries with more than 400 contracted dealers and a worldwide support network. It is currently undergoing a substantial expansion of its manufacturing and research and development facilities in Korea. “There is more bandwidth available,” said Comyns. “In the past, bandwidth had been limited, but that’s changing now.”

Comyns said marine companies have become more sensitive to the wants and needs of their employees as a way to increase retention. “The technology is getting down now to the smaller boats, the workboats,” he said. “The mariners want onboard what they have at home, and there are more satellites coming online, so that’s becoming more possible.”

The company's extensive technical capabilities cover TVRO, VSAT with the latest Global XpressTM capabilities and in house development and manufacture of FleetBroadband systems. Intellian provides a three-year warranty on all VSAT antennas. With expertise in ocean vessels in the commercial, oil and gas markets, and the military, the company’s antenna technology reaches a wide market sector. “Because of the ability of satellite companies, there is more available to the marine market,” said Comyns.

Ken Hocke has been the senior editor of WorkBoat since 1999. He was the associate editor of WorkBoat from 1997 to 1999. Prior to that, he was the editor of the Daily Shipping Guide, a transportation daily in New Orleans. He has written for other publications including The Times-Picayune. He graduated from Louisiana State University with an arts and sciences degree, with a concentration in English, in 1978.