[SatNews] Organizers of the Volvo Ocean Race - one of the toughest tests of sailing endurance - have again selected Inmarsat to provide communications throughout the round-the-world challenge.

Competitors in the 2011-12 event will be able to rely on FleetBroadband for essential voice and data connectivity and to broadcast HDTV and rich multimedia content to the world's media. In addition, the race is endorsing IsatPhone Pro, Inmarsat's new global satellite phone, by including it in the boats' safety kits. Inmarsat will adopt Race Partner status in the 2011-12 event to increase its involvement in this most prestigious ocean challenge.
,br /> The next race starts in Alicante, Spain, in October and finishes in Galway, Ireland, in July 2012, with competitors covering more than 39,000 nautical miles of the world's most treacherous seas. Each Volvo Open 70 race boat will be fitted with a Thrane & Thrane Sailor FleetBroadband 500 terminal, providing voice and high-speed data communications. Also onboard will be a compact Sailor FleetBroadband 150 for crew voice calling and IP data, plus two Sailor Mini-C systems for constant positioning data and global safety communications. Each Volvo Ocean Race crew includes a media member who will use FleetBroadband to send live and store-and-forward video footage. They will be tasked with telling the race story in a HD packages, as well as through live videoconferences, email bulletins, radio interviews, photos and internet blogs. The global audience of race fans is estimated to be up to 1.3 billion people. Inmarsat will again present Media Crew Member (MCM) awards of US$1,358 on each leg of the race, plus a US$13,585 prize for the best overall contribution to race coverage.