Business & Money | Friday 9 June, 2017 5:30 am |

Cradlepoint, the global leader in cloud-based network solutions for connecting people, places and things over wired and wireless broadband, has helped a Dubai radio presenter to break the world record for broadcasting live underwater.

The new record of 5 hours, 25 mins and 25 secs was set in the aquarium at the Atlantis Palm Resort in Dubai, UAE, on May 13th and smashed the previous record of 4 hours and 33 mins by a UK radio station.

The Channel 4 104.8 FM radio presenter, Stu Tolan was submerged three metres below the surface of the water in the 11-million-litre tank as he played music, conducted interviews and talked to his listeners while surrounded by 65,000 marine animals, sharks and stingrays.

The record-breaking show even included a number of special guests, including Michael Rutzen the renowned South African conservationist, film-maker and shark enthusiast.

The show demanded a high level of technical support and the broadcast was made possible by Cradlepoint technology. Al Murad Group/ Channel4 Radio Networks, owners of the radio station use Cradlepoint devices for pop-up networking in remote areas while covering their broadcast. Muhammed Rafeeque, Assistant Manager IT, Al Murad Group/ Channel4 Radio Networks, headed up the technical team at the broadcast. He explained how the Cradlepoint technology helped break the record, “We used an AER2100 router to provide the connectivity between the radio studio and the outside broadcast location. It was critical to have uninterrupted uptime to ensure that the record was achieved”.

Hubert Da Costa, Vice President, EMEA, Cradlepoint, said, “We were delighted to help create this new record for live underwater broadcasting. It was a great opportunity to showcase Cradlepoint’s broad range of technological expertise in providing networking solutions that don’t require fixed cables or lines but which can still provide the quality and reliability of a permanent network.”

Vincent D’Cruz, Regional Channel Manager, Cradlepoint ME, commented: “Working with e-Zone Technology to provide a Cradlepoint solution for Al Murad Group/ Channel4 Radio Networks, which helped them achieve a Guinness record is testimony of the great partnerships we have in UAE.”