TDCOM relies on Vizada’s ThurayaIP for Africa Eco Race

Vizada service provider TDCOM supplies communications systems to support international races and sporting events, often in areas not covered by traditional terrestrial infrastructure. Most recently TDCOM used Vizada’s ThurayaIP service combined with their Iritrack system ThurayaIP terminal set up in Mauritanian desert to support the Africa Eco Race.

Quick & easy to use Mobile satcoms support Thanks to Vizada’s ThurayaIP terminal, Bruno, The Africa Eco Race has been running since who was following the drivers in an official race 2008. Drivers choose between a quad, motorbike, vehicle, was able to establish a connection at the a car or a truck as their means of transport, and Mauritanian border at the request of one of the the official route takes them from northern race officials: through , to Dakar in . “I got out the ThurayaIP terminal, established a Bruno Gibert, TDCOM Operations Manager has WiFi connection to my laptop, and was able to get provided communications support to organizers an internet connection in a matter of seconds. It’s and drivers in this kind of event for 18 years. really very easy to use.”

For the latest Africa Eco Race (December 2009 / “I was able to then connect to the TDCOM server January 2010) Bruno used Vizada’s ThurayaIP where our Iritrack program is housed, and show mobile satellite service to track the drivers’ the official the location of all the drivers in the position at all times. race. Thanks to the reliable satellite connection, we can do this at any point throughout the race ThurayaIP is an A5-sized terminal can be plugged and at any location,” continued Bruno. “This kind into any laptop to connect to internet at speeds of of service is essential for the success of the race.” up to 444 kbps. With the connection established, Bruno was able to access TDCOM’s Iritrack online Vizada has supported TDCOM for a number of portal. years, providing equipment, communications airtime, customer support and trouble shooting for Vehicles are fitted with an Iritrack device which mobile satellite services during many international transmits a signal every 5 minutes, which is in races and events. turn picked up and relayed via the online portal. A quick check enables Bruno and the TDCOM team TDCOM is specialized in supporting events such as to position the drivers at any point during the the , Tour de France and the Abu race. Dhabi Adventure Challenge, and has developed services like Iritrack to cater for the needs of The device is also fitted with an alarm button to organizers and participants alike. enable the drivers to send an alert in case of emergency. It can also be programmed to trigger www.tdcom.com an automatic alarm based on the vehicle’s www.africarace.com acceleration/deceleration.