cape may lewes ferry public wifiMaritime Ferry Wireless Solutions
Knowing the situation could not be left ongoing the ferry system had to make changes or abandon the offering all together. They knew that in order to succeed in this era of technology their public wireless internet offering to the public needed to be much more robust than what it was. As such they turned to TRGroup, Inc. for a solution that would solve their current issues, and provide a solution that would launch them to the cutting-edge of over water public internet access.
challenge
In our always-connected world, we constantly have the need to communicate through technology no matter where we might be at any given time. Because the CMLF ferries cross a large body of water when transporting cars and passengers between the states of Delaware and New Jersey, this presented a problem not only for the passengers who need access to the internet for work or to communicate with family and friends, but also for the ferry crews and administration who have the need for their systems to reliably communicate with shore throughout their journey. In an attempt to resolve this issue, several different solutions were tried and implemented by CMLF but were unable to alleviate the problem of consistent and fast connectivity.
TRGroup, Inc. identified this problem while traveling the ferry system, developed a system design that would resolve the issues, and then approached CMLF with a proposal. CMLF desired to provide reliable Wi-Fi service to its passengers and sought a reliable way to connect to their security systems, improve the functionality of their Point-of-Sale (POS) systems, and to allow their employees to access administrative resources on their network back on land. Up to this point, the ferry system was utilizing cellular air card modems for its internet connectivity which disconnected frequently, had slow throughput, and forced the crew to restart the system multiple times per voyage.
solution
TRGroup’s solution for CMLF provides high-throughput 5 GHz wireless connectivity entirely over water, covering approximately 90 square miles, between Lewes, Delaware and Cape May, New Jersey. The solution encompassed three separate parts to facilitate a reliable wireless system: a point-to-point (PtP) wireless backhaul; a shore-to-vessel (StV) Wi-Fi distribution; and a vessel-to-passenger (VtP) Wi-Fi distribution.
This allows both workers and passengers on the vessels to stay connected, seamlessly continue their jobs while in-transit, instead of experiencing the continued frustration of repeated disconnects and poor performance of cellular connectivity and other solutions previously attempted.
results
Today Cape May Lewes Ferry relies solely on the wireless solution developed by TRG to keep its vessel operations, employees, and passengers connected while traveling. Its employees are now more empowered with the information they need from shore, while its guests and patrons are able to enjoy a reliable connection to the Internet during the entire voyage at speeds greater than 50Mbps.
Contact us today to find out how TRG can help you.
Contact us at the TRG office nearest you or submit a request for information by clicking below.
I highly recommend Aaron and his TRGroup team for thoroughly and expertly addressing and maintaining your corporate network, especially if DoD, ITAR, and other security matters are causing you problems
