Wireless. Innovation. Freedom.
MCP leads the mobile revolution at sea!

Walderhaug should know. As MCP's Senior Vice President of Market Communications, his fingertips are on the pulse of the world's largest and most innovative cruise ship industry. He knows the ships. He knows the owners. He knows the market. He knows about the upcoming trends in wireless communications and, most importantly, he knows about the future demands of communication-savvy passengers.

"The mobile device is one of the most important gadgets we own. Cruise companies need to think beyond current cellular boundaries, and examine how information flows over wireless networks. They have to think about upgrading control servers, about compressing and network configuration to optimize data traffic through satellite transfer," said Walderhaug.

It is estimated that within the next four years, wireless carriers will need to find a way to transmit more than 30 times the volume of data than their networks carry today. A revolution is taking place, and it is going to hit the cruise industry. Maybe not tomorrow, but it's coming faster than you think.

"Cruise companies have to get ready for the next wave. They have to upgrade on board communication systems with highly efficient wireless base stations and make gigabyte, not just megabyte, bandwidth investments."

"Today's mobile device has evolved from a phone into a robust communications tool. Cruise ships must be able tohandle a broadening range of mobile applications down the road," says Walderhaug.

3G

Though a migration to 3G and LTE data speeds on ships may still be a little way off, depending on future satellite bandwidth availability and costs, MCP is designing and operating the most modern networks available at sea. 

Less than a year ago MCP introduced EDGE network technology. Retrofitting its total fleet with the latest communications software, MCP more than tripled the data capacity of each ship's GSM/GPRS network, resulting in increased individual user data rates, higher-speed mobile internet services over existing infrastructure and additional capacity for still-expanding voice traffic.

MCP confirms that its first 3G-vessel project, to be finalized in August this year, is being driven by passenger use of social media applications such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

More and more data is going through mobile devices and the majority of them support only 3G technology. Cruise and ferry operators must keep ahead of this development to drive further onboard communication revenue.

 "Handheld mobile Internet access will be in demand by future cruise passengers. MCP has its 3G strategy in place and can easily upgrade a ship's network to handle fast 3G connections, complete with micro-browsers, widgets and quick launch icons. Increasing ship bandwith is business strategic and passenger expedient for cruise and ferry operators, " said Walderhaug.

New solutions

MCP is continually addressing passenger's cellular expectations and developing creative solutions to maximize each passenger's cruise experience.

"We have extremely competitive strategies for 3G, WLAN, i-Café, IP and Traffic Control Systems. And our suite of future services is impressive. Unlike many of our competitors, we have significant resources and can supply tomorrow's technology today, if needed," concludes Walderhaug.

About Maritime Communications Partner:

Maritime Communications Partner (MCP) is the leading onboard communications partner with 50 highly skilled employees. The company has developed unique technical solutions, providing mobile telephony coverage for people onboard major cruise ships and ferries worldwide, delivering a premium service to MCP's customers. MCP offices are located centrally in Arendal, Norway and Miami, (FL) USA. MCP is fully owned by Telenor ASA, one of the world's major mobile operators. Through Telenor, MCP has access to a wide range of competence and resources within market, product, innovation and content development.

For more information about MCP, please visit: www.mcp.com

Contact:

Roar Walderhaug
Senior VP, Market Communications, MCP
roar.walderhaug@mcp.com
+47 916 04 358

Egon Vik
Market Communications Manager, MCP
egon.vik@mcp.com
+47 90 97 44 77