Greenpeace free shipboard phone and broadband
http://www.joejava.com/greenpeace.htm

image jennifer.jpg Greenpeace activist Jennifer Kirby Surfs the net using my ThinkPad.


When the crew of Greenpeace vessel Arctic Sunrise wanted to call and e-mail home, they had a better idea than pay Inmarsat.

When the vessel, coming from South America, called into port at Portland Oregon, they phoned a local web company, VeriLAN, and asked it to hook them up with wi-fi and voice over IP communications linking with a shore hotspot, and also wire up the ship with wi-fi so they could use it in other areas.

VeriLAN set up a wi-fi hotspot on the roof of a building facing the ship.

Wireless consultant Nigel Ballard installed the system and also donated the shipboard hardware permanently to Greenpeace (laptops, cables, antennas) in return for being able to spend July 4th onboard the ship and drink some sweet South American orange pop from Greenpeace. 

 "We played with the radio gear, prepared food, ate together in the mess, had a beer and sangria party on the deck and then watched the firework display," says Nigel Ballard. "They are without doubt, an awesome group of people."

The shipboard wi-fi receiver was wired at the top of the crows nest for maximum range. There is a switch in the radio room which can switch the antenna from omni directional to directional. The ship can now pick up wi-fi communication up to 5 miles from the access point. 

The data is relayed onboard the ship, there is a standard 802.11b wi-fi system so that crew can use laptops with wi-fi cards anywhere onboard. 

The shipboard telephone system (PBX) is connected to a Cisco VoIP box; callers route their calls through this system by pressing "9" before dialling, enabling them to receive free calls anywhere in the US with better quality than cellular calls. 

"If you are in a location where the Arctic Sunrise is headed, and you know where there is free Wi-Fi in direct line of sight to their intended mooring, or you are a supporter with a little bandwidth to share, please go ask for Thom on board and let him know," says Nigel Ballard.

"We are very excited to have this working on the ship. It will offer us a lot of new opportunities to get our web content and digital video off the ship quickly," explains Thom Looney, Radio Officer on the Arctic Sunrise.

VeriLAN already operates a wi-fi network which runs along most of the Portland waterfront area. 

Email emcnair@verilan.com