Global mobile provider Truphone has become official global supplier for mobile voice and data services of the offshore sailing race Volvo Ocean Race.
Truphone will provide global mobile voice and data services to employees of the Volvo Ocean Race for 36 months. The partnership aims to convey Truphone’s international data speed, high quality voice calls and customer service across 66 countries.
The race spans 38,739 nautical miles, 11 countries and five oceans. It begins in Alicante, Spain on October 4 2014 and ends in Gothenburg, Sweden on June 27 2015.
This will be the 12th running of an event first held in 1973 when it was launched as the Whitbread Round the World Race. It is one of the three major events in sailing, together with the Olympics and the America’s Cup.
The upcoming 2014-15 edition will place more emphasis on the seamanship of the sailors than ever before, following a decision to have all the teams compete in boats with an identical design, the ‘Volvo Ocean 65’.
Knut Frostad, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race, said: We have employees travelling around the world and providers spread across five continents. It is crucial that we are always connected – 24 hours a day, without surprises, with seamless communications, with the best voice quality and high speed data. In this new edition, we can count on a single partner in Truphone capable of providing extreme mobility of the kind we need around the world.”
Meanwhile, Steve Robertson, CEO of Truphone, commented: “We are proud to have been chosen as the Official Supplier of Mobile Communications for The Volvo Ocean Race. It’s a truly global event that embodies the spirit of passion for innovation and performance – values which are deeply embedded in Truphone’s DNA.
“The Race pushes people to the extreme limit of their skills, their emotions and their endurance. We’re thrilled to be a part of the team – providing the global mobile network that enables the Volvo Ocean Race employees to share these experiences with the people that matter most.”