Mitel drives Ryder Cup comms

Vendor supplies IP telephony kit to this weekend's transatlantic golf competition

Leading the way: Mitel phones used at the event will display a real-time scoreboard

Comms vendor Mitel is supplying this weekend's Ryder Cup tournament with an IP telephony system.

The system will support the activities of event staff and members of the media, as well as being used in hospitality facilities. Mitel has also developed a real-time visual application to display updated scores on all of the vendor's 5360 IP phones being used at the event.

Graham Bevington, EMEA managing director at Mitel, said: "The Ryder Cup's quick build-up and tear-down make it a unique challenge. The technology has to be ready to go, perform flawlessly, and connect many locations and functions.

"Our commitment to the Ryder Cup is to provide an infrastructure that guarantees uptime and mobility for voice communications and works with the other technologies in place at and surrounding the event, is something we look forward to carrying out during the tournament."

The three-day contest began today and is due to conclude on Sunday, although play was suspended after just two hours this morning due to a waterlogged course.

The biennial showdown between golfers from Europe and the US was first hosted in 1927 and this year is held at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport. Two years ago the US snatched back the cup with a 16½ to 11½ points victory at the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Ryder Cup's ICT director Graham Gifford said: "Mitel's offerings are ideally suited to the challenging demands of the Ryder Cup. The mix of innovation, reliability, and mobility is a key requirement for an event of this magnitude. By selecting Mitel, we have been able to ensure that our voice communication needs are covered at all points."