Racing legend Mark Skaife puts Vodafone’s 4G network to the ultimate test
Vodafone CEO walks the talk on network reliability
Australian motor racing legend Mark Skaife demonstrated the reliability of the Vodafone 4G network through the ultimate test at Calder Park Thunderdome in Victoria.
The 6 time Bathurst champion put Vodafone’s 4G network through its paces, successfully racing around the track in a BMW M6, with the car’s windows completely blacked out and relying solely on vision coming through three Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 tablets fixed to the inside of his windscreen.
A live video stream across the Vodafone 4G network delivered Skaife’s only view of the outside world, beaming in from three Samsung Galaxy S7 smartphones attached to the roof of car.
During the test, Skaife had to race around one of the fastest tracks in Australia on the old NASCAR style Thunderdome, while tackling hairpin corners and tricky chicanes across the full Calder Park national circuit.
This was a challenge Skaife had never faced before, who relied on the reliability and speed of the Vodafone 4G network to find his visual cues to hit key points on the race track at significant speeds.
“Lapping Calder Park behind screens was one of the biggest driving challenges I’ve ever attempted, it was like driving in an Xbox game – but without the reset button!” said Mr Skaife.
“The technology was amazing.
“Samsung phones consistently transmitting live footage via the Vodafone 4G network to tablets inside the car – it was the ultimate in real world racing simulation.”
Vodafone Australia Chief Executive Officer Inaki Berroeta had just as much faith in the Vodafone 4G network, jumping in the front seat of the car as Skaife drove.
“While I was slightly nervous of Mark’s driving at first, I never doubted the reliability and performance of the Vodafone network,” said Mr Berroeta.
“This test is yet another example of our confidence in the Vodafone network and willingness to put our money where our mouth is.
Under Vodafone’s 30 Day Network Satisfaction Guarantee, if a new postpaid customer is not satisfied with Vodafone’s network within the first 30 days, they can cancel their contract, no questions asked. Customers just need to return their equipment and device to a Vodafone store within 10 days of making their claim, and Vodafone will refund any monthly access fees and monthly handset instalments paid by the customer . The 30 Day Network Satisfaction Guarantee is also available for business customers with up to 9 connections.
Mr Berroeta said the company’s 30 Day Network Satisfaction Guarantee demonstrates that Vodafone is prepared to walk the talk on network satisfaction and ultimately put the power in people’s hands.
“We are proud to offer a guarantee which demonstrates our commitment to being transparent about our network performance. With our new program, people don’t need to take our word for it, they can experience the difference for themselves.”
This ultimate network test demonstrates the significant investment made in the Vodafone network, and reflects independent network testing by P3 as part of the P3 CommsDay Mobile Benchmark 2016, which found that the Vodafone network achieved success ratios of 99% or over in all metro data testing, with a perfect 100% success rate for small file downloads in metro drive tests. The report also found that Vodafone’s network had the best aggregate voice and data performance this year in cities with a population over 100,000.
“We continue to invest in our network every single day as we strengthen our 4G service to help deliver faster speeds and greater coverage to enable our customers to stay connected in more places,” said Mr Berroeta.
ENDS
Notes to editor
4G is available with a compatible 4G device. To find out where we have 4G, see vodafone.com.au/coverage.
30 Day Network Satisfaction Guarantee is in addition to your legal rights. Available to new customers signing up to all our postpaid consumer plans and selected business plans.
P3 CommsDay Mobile Benchmark 2016 states Vodafone “had the best aggregate voice and data performance” in Major Cities. Based on a combination of all voice and 4G-preferred data performance results. Drive Tests in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Geelong, Wollongong and Newcastle. Walk Tests in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth. Testing by P3 Communications between 5-18/11/16 using Android devices.