P&O Ferries offers satellite/terrestrial Wi-Fi on shuttle boats
U.K.-based P&O Ferries deployed a Wi-Fi solution designed to keep passengers connected as they make the 22-mile crossing of the English Channel from Dover, England, to Calais, France.
The ferry company, which moves more than 9 million passengers annually, partnered with MTN to install broadband antennas on the ships, which connect to upland access points tied to MTN’s broadband network. The hybrid satellite-terrestrial network supports some 12 terabytes of data each day, with more than 2.8 million Internet logins reported each month.
“Ferries traditionally have relied solely on satellite bandwidth for communications services,” Ian Rabbidge, head of propositions for P&O Ferries, said in a statement.
“With connectivity demands exponentially increasing on our ferries, it was crucial for us to find a more reliable, robust solution,” he continued. “We need to enable passengers to stay online while commuting to work or to stay connected while enjoying their leisure travel. Just like in the office, at home or at a land-based resort, they want to stream media; conduct eCommerce; engage in social media; access online content; watch television; call family, friends and colleagues; and more. MTN enables all this through its advanced communications ecosystem of hybrid connectivity, smart computing and an Internet platform designed to enable today’s apps. P&O Ferries is proud to be the first ferry operator in the world to showcase such an advanced communications offering to its passengers and crew.”
P&O, in addition to running the English Channel route, operates in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and in the Irish Sea.
Brent Horwitz, SVP and GM of MTN’s cruise and ferry services said customers are interested in “leveraging this new hybrid network with both satellite and terrestrial connectivity, in addition to smart computing and an enhanced Internet platform.”
“P&O Ferries had its own major modernization initiative underway to provide the most advanced overall ferry services in the world,” he said. “By delivering this competitive differentiator, we are aligning communications with all the other innovation P&O Ferries has underway – and in some cases, enabling it. This enhanced connectivity, and access to work- and travel-related applications and content, is at a level beyond what any other ferry operator has today.”
