The Ironman Competition, Sweden

The Ironman Competition in Sweden

Competition Was Successfully Held with Hytera DMR solution

Background

The historic Swedish town Kalmar hosted its first Ironman competition in August 2012. The event comprised a grueling 3.86km swim in the Kalmar Strait, a 180.2km bicycle race and a marathon run of 42.195km. Approximately 1,500 athletes and 40,000 visitors took part in the Kalmar event. Naturally, the event organizer, Kalmar Triathlon AB, needed to have reliable and robust communications to ensure the competition went smoothly.

Customer Demands

Kalmar Triathlon had a number of key requirements that had to be met, including:

· A cost effective solution for short term rental

· Wide area surface coverage for portable radios

· Fast and reliable connectivity between operators

· Easy operation for users with only minimal training

· Good sound quality

· Uptime of portable devices during the whole duration of the event

· Rugged devices that could withstand impact and moisture

· The possibility of combining the wireless system with GPS positioning for use at other competitions in Sweden.

The original plan was that the race would be co-ordinated using GSM/3G phones. However, the organizer realized this would not provide the required quality of services because it was not possible to establish communications between the race controllers and the emergency services. Moreover, the ESPN television team needed access to fast communication services.

Solutions

Zodiac, Stockholm-based wireless distributor of Hytera, worked with its local dealer to identify the right equipment and design temporary wireless network, which involved using the following Hytera DMR equipment: 3 RD98X base stations; 36 PD78X portable radios; 6 slot chargers for all the portable radios; and accessories such as secret service style headsets.

As well as supplying Hytera equipment, Zodiac also helped with system installation and programing, telephone support throughout the deployment, and backup with spare radios and technical skills during the competition phase.

Benefits

The solution supplied by Hytera offered IP over internet roaming between base stations, while the deployment of one RD98X in repeater mode in every base station provided wider area coverage than conventional radios. The design of the network architecture provided some overlap in the competition area for added resilience.

Tobias Borg, one of the managers for the Ironman event, said that the success of competition would not have been possible without the radio system supplied by Hytera and have pre-booked the same system for 2013.

All the features of the solution could be highlighted as below:

• IP over internet roaming between base stations

• Easy to use for both novice users and experienced users

• Good communication range over the whole competition area

• Excellent planning of the area with some overlap in the competition area

• DMR technology and its capabilities proved to be an excellent choice for short time renting and quick to use

Voice from Customer

“The competition could not have been possible without the radio system from Hytera.”

—— Tobias Borg, Manager from the racing organization

“From the emergency services’ point of view, the communication between organizers and the authorities was quick and clear thanks to the efficient radio network.”

—— Göran Engström, Rescue Kalmar

“We believe that Hytera / Zodiac / Lemab should invest in a more global partnership. The concept used in Kalmar can easily be copied and used in competitions in various locations worldwide.”

—— Thomas Matsson, Dialect Lemab Kalmar