Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012
Data & Voice Communications

Data communications

The 2011-2012 Volvo Ocean Race yachts have two fleet broadband terminals on board, an FB500 and an FB150, operating on the Inmarsat global mobile broadband platform.

This offers some exciting new options but put up a number of challenges for managing communications from the yachts, the key areas being:

1. How can the two satellite terminals be simultaneously connected to the same network?
2. How can the sailing crew decide which terminal to use?
3. Fleet Broadband offers a range of different types of connection, how does the crew select which one and how does the traffic go to the correct one?
4. Given the extreme environment, what is the fallback procedure if one satellite terminals gets damaged?
5. How can the management team support the yachts and monitor any problems and usage?

To address these issues, Livewire Digital has designed the Network Controller, a unit that bridges the on-board network and the satellite terminals. The Network Controller manages the terminals, bringing up connections as required, routing and monitoring IP traffic.

The Network Controller user interface runs on a Mac or PC and offers an intuitive application for the crew to select services and manage the on-board communications. Multiple client applications can be run simultaneously, so the navigator and media crew member can both have control of the on-board communications without complicated procedures.

Voice Communications

The Fleet Broadband FB500 and FB150 provide very robust voice communications under extreme conditions. Livewire Digital has integrated the voice services with the Media Desk allowing voice communications through on-board audio systems including the wireless Talkback handsets. This is managed through an application on the Media Crew Members’ laptop.