The Cruise Line Company has been a pioneer in the cruise industry for over 50 years. Today, guests travel the world while enjoying unparalleled amenities aboard its award-winning vessels. While at sea, guests can enjoy a unique and memorable dining experience at one of the many specialty restaurants onboard, and watch world-class musical performances, shows, and other entertainment straight from Broadway.
Reliance on analogue surveillance equipment
The organisation strives to provide the most innovative and accommodating vacation experience for guests while traveling to the most beautiful and exotic locations around the world, including Hawaii, the Caribbean, Bermuda, Europe, Australia, Alaska, and more.
However, the Cruise Line was still relying on analogue surveillance equipment throughout many of its cruise ships and was interested in modernising to IP to provide the safest travel experience for guests.
Upgrading to an IP-based system
The organisation was interested in an IP-based system as it would provide high-resolution viewing and recording capabilities
The organisation was interested in an IP-based system as it would provide high-resolution viewing and recording capabilities, improved monitoring, and better application management.
The existing analogue cameras were supported by a Coax-based infrastructure that ran throughout the ships. They considered removing the existing Coax and installing Ethernet cabling to support the new IP cameras, but became concerned with the high costs, long deployment times, and environmental impact.
Unsatisfied with traditional network design limitations, the organisation looked for an innovative solution.
Environmental responsibility
The Cruise Line is committed to being a responsible corporate citizen by preserving the precious natural resources that are integral to its success. The organisation strives to minimise waste, reduce CO2 emissions, and engage in impactful environmental partnerships.
Every ship has a team responsible for the implementation, training, and oversight of shipboard environmental compliance.
Additionally, all crew members receive specialised environmental training and are responsible for ensuring environmental compliance in everything they do. As the organisation planned its modernisation to IP surveillance, environmental responsibility was also top-of-mind.
CLEER EoC solution
The CLEER switch transforms any Coax-based infrastructure into a robust IP backbone to support any IP camera
Given the customer’s digital transformational objectives, the reseller partner, Surveillance International Inc., recommended Modern LAN design principles and the NVT Phybridge CLEER (Ethernet over Coax) solution.
The CLEER switch transforms any new or existing Coax-based infrastructure into a robust IP backbone ideal to support any IP camera, with reach capabilities up to 6,000ft (1,830m) – 18-times farther than a standard Ethernet switch.
The customer was impressed with the proposed solution and decided to move forward with the digital transformation.
A robust and reliable solution
After a few simple setup steps, the CLEER24 switch transformed the existing and proven Coax infrastructure into a robust and reliable Power over Ethernet PoE backbone; capable of supporting the new IP cameras in all areas of the ship. Also, the organisation can now connect up to 4 IP cameras using a single Coax cable run using the NVT Phybridge EC4 Adapter.
After successfully deploying IP surveillance throughout the first ship, the organisation decided to replicate the success in several of its other liners. Due to Modern LAN design and the NVT Phybridge CLEER24 innovation, the customer was able to simplify the digital transformation and increase the number of cameras on-board its ships, which can carry a combined total of more than 19,000 travellers every voyage.
The Ethernet over Coax solution allowed the customer to leverage its existing infrastructure to avoid the risky and complex rip & replace model.
Digital transformation objectives
The Cruise Line took a proactive approach to find new and better ways to support its digital transformation objectives in a financially and socially responsible manner. NVT Phybridge helped the organisation change the conversation around traditional LAN design; leveraging Modern LAN Principles and PoE innovations to:
- Deploy over 4,000 IP cameras across eight cruise ships using the existing Coax-based infrastructure
- Increase the number of IP cameras in all public areas using the EC4 Adapter that supports up to four IP cameras over a single Coax cable run
- Reduce infrastructure costs by more than $4 million while simplifying and accelerating the project to improve return on investment
- Ensure the purpose-driven network for surveillance was maintained and enhanced
- Support IP cameras exactly where they were needed thanks to the CLEER24’s long reach capabilities
- Prevent over 120 tons of cabling e-waste from entering a landfill
- Simplify the overall network requirements; creating a robust and cyber secure PoE platform for the IP surveillance equipment
Additionally, the Cruise Line can also support other IoT devices using the new IP-enabled local area network, including IP phones, IP speakers, and wireless access points.