John Lennon Educational Tour Bus

Connected for unlimited creativity

The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is a non-profit state-of-the-art mobile audio and HD video recording and production facility. In its 22nd year, with the very newest technology and gear, the Bus continues to be dedicated to providing young people with tours of the studios, participation in free digital media production workshops, and the production of giant peace signs. Assisted by three on-board engineers, students can learn how to write, record, and produce original songs, music videos, documentaries, and live multi-camera video productions – all in one day! And once the students’ project is complete, the final version of the video is uploaded to the Lennon Bus’s YouTube channel in HD.

Benefits of Viprinet's solution

Reliable Internet independent of location
Sufficient bandwidth for audio and HD video upload

Easy remote access and remote configuration
Flexible virtual hub solution for convenience and cost reduction

The challenge

When students come together onboard the Lennon Bus, a reliable mobile internet connection is vital, regardless of the given broadband coverage on the spot. Relying on a single internet connection, be it 3G/4G or WiFi, has proved unfeasible. There was never a guarantee that connectivity would be available at an event site or even anytime soon after as the Bus typically travels overnight between events. At any given location, mobile broadband signal might be strong from a certain service provider and weak or non-existent from another. There was often no way to properly plan for connectivity at an upcoming location. During a “Tours and Tents” event, hundreds of visitors are invited inside the Lennon Bus as well as into its hands-on demo tents to experience the latest in music, video, and photo creation technology. Music, video, and photo samples can be streamed for the visitors. Everything depends on a strong internet connection.

Implementaion

Prior the Lennon Bus was reliant on individual WWAN hotspots when onboard the Bus, or local WiFi at hotels or schools when available. The Lennon Bus solved this issue by using a Viprinet Multichannel VPN Router 2620. With the Viprinet WAN bonding technology deployed, mobile data connections of different providers and different standards can be bonded together to provide a rock-solid connectivity with combined bandwidths. The modular router allows loading it with a variety of LTE cards. Great broadband signal regardless of which mobile service provider may be strong (or weak) in a particular location are provided. Four external antennas on the roof of the bus have been installed to take full advantage of the Viprinet technology. A Viprinet Virtual VPN Hub (AWS) is used as an alternative to a physical VPN Hub, in order to implement it more easily into an already existing infrastructure, and to provide Multichannel VPN Hubs as a cloud service.

Result

By upgrading the John Lennon Bus with a Viprinet bonding solution, the bus can now operate as an independent mobile production facility. Teaching students how to write, record, and produce original songs, music videos, documentaries, and live multi-camera video productions is now provided throughout the United States. Not only the students, but even the Bus’s crew benefits from Viprinet. Easy remote access for configuration and assistance of the onboard crew makes Viprinet a convenient solution. A considerable amount of administrative work relies on cloudbased documents to organize their complex daily tasks. From equipment inventories to daily call sheets, their internet connection is their lifeline.