Military charity Walking with the Wounded (WWTW) is launching one of the most ambitious charity expedition of modern times. Charity patrons have already trekked across the Arctic and attempted to scale Everest and now they are taking on the South Pole.
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 by providing GPS navigation tools, video transmission and communication facilities to keep the teams in-touch and, most importantly, safe.
WWTW Founder, Ed Parker says Arqiva was chosen as communications partner for the expedition because of their end-to-end service. "We needed someone who was able to work in the very extreme environment where we’re going to be and we needed a telecoms partner that could provide everything we needed – we wanted a bespoke partner and Arqiva stood out as being the most obvious place to go," he says.
For John Cresswell, CEO Arqiva, supporting WWTW is more than a charity endeavour. "We’re extremely proud to be part of the whole venture," he says. "We’re providing our technology and our know-how to both enhance the safety of the mission, which is paramount, and to bring the pictures and video back so we all can follow on the way. So I think it’s great we can bring our skills to the party.
Navigating to the South Pole
Arqiva is helping guide the UK’s Team Glenfiddich, the US Team Noon and Team Soldier on for the Commonwealth safely to the South Pole using GPS technology, which would be very difficult to do otherwise.
Eric Philips, polar guide for Team Soldier On (Commonwealth), says: "It’s very difficult to navigate instinctively in Antarctica but to be absolutely precise and find the South Pole 335km away we have no choice but to use GPS in this modern age. Of course years ago they used sextons and those sorts of things, but these days we’re too lazy to use that kind of technology, and why would you when you can pick up a little device and turn it on and it tells you where you are and what direction you need to go and how far."
Mike Hanna, project manager, Arqiva reassures that there is no risk of GPS falling out of place and despite being at the bottom of the world. "The only thing that gets in the way of GPS is big buildings, and obviously there are no big buildings in the Antarctic, so there’s full coverage," he says.
"One of the things we’re making available on the website as well is a GPS map to follow the guys and there’ll be constant updates as to where they are," adds Hanna. This GPS functionality will be powered by 28 satellite phones which will transmit the teams’ progress to an interactive map on the WWTW website.
The satellite phones will enable the teams to stay in touch with each other on the ice and provide them connection to support services outside of Antarctica as well as providing as SOS functionality in the form of an emergency button than sends a direct message to support teams should they run into any danger.
Communicating home
Not only is Arqiva providing aiding with the teams’ navigation thanks to GPS software, they are also helping the intrepid adventurers stay in touch with their loved ones at home and communicate their story to the public, which will in term raise awareness of the charity. This will be the first time HD video has been streamed from the South Pole.
Hanna says: "It’s giving the opportunity for the guys on the ground to communicate with us back home and their families and the people supporting them. It enables them to share their stories on how they are coping with that harsh environment.
"We’ve put in a software solution as to how we can capture video blogs and send them back because just sending the files can be problematic. But quite a bit of work has gone into that to make sure the teams can communicate back to us.
"The software and the capabilities that software brings means that for the first time ever they’ll be able to take videos and send them back straight away to communicate with their families and all those videos will be on the system for supporters to watch. It’s a world first."
Arqiva is providing the teams with Panasonic Toughpads and ruggedised Samsung Galaxy cameras to capture their experience to upload to the web. Kit sponsor for the expedition Helly Hanson has provided team members with special gloves to operate the touch screen technology so they do not have to expose their fingers to the elements.
Harsh conditions for technology
To say that Antarctica’s climate is harsh is something of an understatement: it is the coldest, windiest and driest place on earth. Air humidity is near zero, with a desert climate that almost never rises above 0°c. This means that Arqiva had to source the best kit available to withstand these conditions, which has been tried and tested by military companies to be as rugged as possible.
However, there are certain practicalities the teams cannot get around, as expedition and communications manager Victoria Nicholson explains: "In that environment, the batteries deplete very quickly. So extra batteries and chargers are taken out and there is a routine of the guys charging the batteries up in place.
"You actually sleep with batteries inside your sleeping bag to keep them warm and preserve the power. We’ve [also] got all the vehicle-mounted ports for all the charging."
Polar guide Philips adds: "Antarctica is quite mild on gear compared to the Arctic and the North Pole. We’ve got solar panels and each soldier has a personal solar device so we can charge iridium satellite telephone batteries, GPS batteries, iPods and all that kind of stuff, so that’s very useful."
The majority of the teams are made up of servicemen and women with physical and mental injuries. Actors Dominic West and Alexander Skarsgård and expedition patron Prince Harry will also be taking part with the teams as they make their way across the Antarctic in what is being billed by a number of polar experts as the largest modern-day expedition of its type.
Not only does the expedition illustrate the extraordinary determination and courage of the injured service personnel, it will also raise awareness and vital funds for Walking with the Wounded.
CBR wishes the best of luck to Team Glenfiddich and everyone involved in the Walking with the Wounded expedition to the South Pole.
