NVT Phybridge Case Study: Cruise Line

Save the Waves^®

Save the Waves is the philosophy by which the cruise line operates as it corresponds to environmental stewardship. Starting as a company-wide recycling program, Save the Waves has become a holistic approach to environmental responsibility guided by four key principles: reduce/reuse/recycle wherever possible, pollution prevention, go above and beyond compliance, and continuous improvement through innovation. As a global leader in the hospitality industry, the cruise line recognizes the tremendous responsibility they have to the communities they visit and the oceans they sail in, which are at the very essence of their business. When it came time to modernize their fleet to IP phones to provide a better guest experience, environmental impact was top of mind.

Aligning with the Four Key Principles

The cruise line is continuously innovating and retrofitting their ships to operate more efficiently and with less impact on the environment. However, the customer was concerned with the high costs, long deployment times, business disruption, and potential e-waste associated with traditional network design methodologies.

Unsatisfied with the traditional approach, the customer discovered Frost & Sullivan’s new Modern LAN design principles and the PoLRE® long-reach PoE innovation. By leveraging Modern LAN principle #4, a project plan was designed to minimize the impact on the environment.

The cruise line was able to 100% reuse the existing infrastructure, preventing over 15 tons of e-waste while upgrading two luxury liners to IP communication. Leveraging the existing cables also saved ongoing fuel consumption with every trip, as the proposed replacement wiring was approximately 3Xs the weight
By using new long reach Power over Ethernet innovations, the customer eliminated the need to install new server closets, which will reduce ongoing fuel consumption with every trip
Over 6,000 legacy phones were modernized to IP across two cruise ships. These smart devices have energy-saving capabilities that will reduce the customer’s carbon footprint even further
The simplified solution allowed the customer to deploy over 3,000 new IP phones in each ship during the originally scheduled one-month dry dock period, an accomplishment that the customer never thought was possible.

A Better Return on Investment

The cruise line took a pro-active approach to find new and better ways to support their IP modernization objectives in a financially and socially responsible manner. By applying Modern LAN principles and leveraging innovative switch technology, the customer:

Reduced infrastructure costs by over $3 million
Eliminated risk and disruption
Reduced the project’s impact on the environment; preventing over 15 tons of e-waste
Deployed over 3,000 new IP phones in each of the two ships within the originally scheduled one-month dry dock period
Built a secure and robust PoE platform for their enhanced IP communication solution

“The new communication system was deployed within the 1-month period that each ship was in dry-dock, an accomplishment that the customer never thought was possible”, says Julian Kennedy, Vertical Lead for the Cruise Industry at NVT Phybridge. “Our CHARIoT series of solutions enable cruise lines to modernize their communication, entertainment and security systems on existing infrastructure while saving time, money, energy and weight”.

If you have an upcoming IP/IoT modernization project, we would love to help! Click below to book a one-on-one meeting with one of our Digital Transformation Consultants.

BOOK A MEETING