Motor racing legend Mark Skaife has stormed around the Calder Park Thunderdome in Victoria in a car, with all its windows blacked out, relying on just the Vodafone 4G network to guide him with vision from three Samsung Galaxy tablets mounted on the inside of his windscreen.
The test by the six times Bathurst champion involved Skaife racing around the track in a BMW M6 with a live video stream across the Vodafone 4G network delivering his only view of the outside world, onto the Galaxy Tab S2 tablets via three Samsung Galaxy S7 smartphones attached to the roof of car.
During the test, Skaife raced 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 circuit.
“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!” Skaife said.
{loadposition peter}“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 CEO Inaki Berroeta was 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,” Berroeta said.
“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.”
Berroeta says 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”.