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Arqiva to provide crucial communications support for the Walking With The Wounded South Pole Allied Challenge expeditionFeb 28, 2013 (M2 PRESSWIRE via COMTEX) -- Arqiva, the communications infrastructure and media services company, has announced a communications partnership with Walking With The Wounded (WWTW), for its forthcoming expedition to the South Pole in December 2013. WWTW is a UK charity which funds re-training and re-education programmes for wounded servicemen and women. It stages extreme expeditions to illustrate the extraordinary courage of injured servicemen, to promote awareness of their need for support in career transitions, and to raise funds. For this expedition, three teams, including a team of British wounded military personnel will travel to the South Pole in the organisations largest expedition to date. Prince Harry remains Patron of the expedition and a keen supporter of the charity As communications partner Arqiva will enhance the way in which the charity is able to fully utilise communications from this remote part of the world. For the first time ever Arqiva will provide video uploads and personal team video diaries with the communications capability to capture and transmit pictures of the expedition from the South Pole to the UK in HD quality. Arqiva will also provide a live video transmission from the teams; detailing events as they happen in real-time across 10,000 miles direct to the charity in London. A rare live transmission feed from The South Pole. Arqiva will also provide satellite handsets enabling participants, support vehicles and search and rescue teams to maintain regular contact throughout the entire journey. Always ingenious Arqiva will also utilise GPS tracking devices that will track team progress and update a web based interactive map via the WWTW website (www.walkingwiththewounded.org.uk), ensuring that the public, friends and family stay connected during the race. Arqiva will painstakingly test all communications hardware and uplinks in an 'as live' glacial environment when they attend team training in Iceland in March. Military grade laptops, designed to withstand freezing temperatures and the bumps and jolts of a rugged environment will be equipped with data compressing software, allowing the teams to upload images from the expedition easily and quickly. Arqiva already works and supports the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) with their Radio and TV channel distribution for over 10 years. This enables the BFBS to deliver Radio and TV content from the UK to British forces throughout the world. John Cresswell, CEO, Arqiva said: "We are a company that celebrates challenge - both the exceptional determination of injured servicemen taking part in an expedition of this kind, and our professional challenge in giving the charity a debut opportunity for video transmission from The South Pole. Walking with the Wounded is a remarkable charity and we are thrilled we can facilitate the broadcasting communications which are crucial for a safe expedition, as well as allowing people at home to follow the teams every step of the way." Edward Parker Founder of Walking WithThe Wounded said "We are delighted to have Arqiva onboard as our expedition communications partner, and are extremely pleased to have such a great safety and support structure from them. Communications from Antarctica is one of the toughest expedition elements to achieve and Arqiva will be facilitating this media rich expedition and allowing us to tell the inspirational stories of the three teams of wounded service personnel from the UK, USA and The Commonwealth. We are also pleased that they will be streaming our official press launch live to the world to enable a truly global audience to follow the Walking With The Wounded South Pole Allied Challenge." About Arqiva Arqiva, the communications infrastructure and media services company, operates at the heart of the broadcast, satellite and mobile communications markets. The company is at the forefront of network solutions and services in the digital world. Arqiva provides much of the infrastructure behind television, radio, satellite and wireless communications in the UK and has a significant presence in Ireland, mainland Europe and the USA. Customers include major broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV, BSkyB and the independent radio groups, major telco providers including the UK's four mobile network operators, and the emergency services. www.arqiva.com For more information please contact: Noah Devereux Pagefield Communications 0203 327 4064 [email protected] Gary Follows Arqiva Head of Public Relations 0330 303 6816 [email protected] Captive Minds [email protected] 020 7 422 8260 ((M2 Communications disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to [email protected]. |