Cobham SATCOM’s sponsorship of the Land Rover Experience Tour 2017 kicked-off in July with delivery and testing of the cutting-edge EXPLORER terminals that will keep participants safe and connected during the grueling expedition, which takes place in Peru from October 14 to November 9 this year.
Cobham SATCOM is a long-time supporter of Land Rover’s semi-regular trek to some of the world’s most remote locations. This year’s tour features 16 new model Land Rover Discovery SUVs and three new model Range Rover Sports with a team of staff and experts from Land Rover Experience Germany and support from the global Experience Network. The team is accompanied by 42 international participants, all of whom won their places on the tour by entering a series of national competitions open to the public earlier this year.
Running since 2000, the Land Rover Experience Tour was established to demonstrate the extreme durability of Land Rovers in the most inhospitable environments on the planet. This year’s route through the wilderness and mountains of Peru is designed to test the cutting-edge design and engineering that makes Land Rover vehicles famous for their off-road capabilities alongside the equipment and products of like-minded sponsors.
According to the company, the EXPLORER terminals are the perfect match for the new Land Rover Discovery, providing unmatched reliable communications from virtually anywhere on land. Cobham has provided a diverse communications suite for the tour fleet including EXPLORER Push-To-Talk, which uses the Inmarsat BGAN network to provide a highly reliable connection between the vehicles and to base camp for operational, safety and welfare purposes. The rugged and lightweight EXPLORER 5075GX VSAT terminal will also provide data connectivity using Inmarsat’s Global Xpress Ka-band satellite service. This ensures high-speed internet access for participants and the media team during the tour, wherever they are.
Lutz Rathmann, CEO, Land Rover Experience Germany, noted that Cobham consistently provides his firm with the reliable voice and data link that is vital to the safety and well-being of the tour participants and the ability to report back on the adventure as it unfolds. With EXPLORER terminals, Land Rover has confidence that despite the tough itinerary, communications will occur no matter where or whatever the conditions.
According to Henrik Nørrelykke, VP Global Sales and Marketing, Land, Cobham SATCOM, the company's terminals are designed to operate in all environments and the firm is always keen to show just how capable the terminals are, especially if a partnership with other organisations committed to pushing the envelope on extreme operations is possible. Like Cobham's sponsorship of the Volvo Ocean Race, the work with the Land Rover Experience Tour has proven to be a valuable test-bed for the company's products.