MiPlayer connects armed forces

Following the successful roll out of MiPlayer to the Royal Navy, which had been developed to give those serving on ships a reliable connection to the outside world, our team of technologists were eager to install it for the benefit of people deployed around the world.

We approached Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ), the headquarters of joint and combined overseas military operations, hoping to roll out MiPlayer across all three services. PJHQ agreed to a trial; it was our job to demonstrate the platform’s reliability, functionality and impact on the audience.

During August 2017, our team travelled to a large camp in Afghanistan to carry out a MiPlayer trial. The technology streams media by taking conventional broadcast radio and television signals and making them available over WiFi. Once up and running, the positive impact of MiPlayer was clear. People could access the best of UK TV and radio on their phones and other devices for the first time on deployment – the lift in their spirits was undeniable.

Impressed, PJHQ gave us the go ahead to roll out to other locations. Just a few months later, the next system was installed in the Somalian capital, Mogadishu.

Since 2017, MiPlayer has been introduced to many more operational locations with not only PJHQ, but also Joint Forces Command (JFC), which is responsible for the joint capabilities of the three armed services.

Our demonstration proved that MiPlayer is indeed a powerful solution, with huge potential to reduce feelings of isolation and bring meaningful benefits to people and operations across all three services.

Today, thousands of people deployed worldwide are using MiPlayer. It is used by over half of the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships, and is in operational and permanent military locations such as Estonia, Poland, Bahrain, the Falkland Islands, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and South Sudan.

What’s more, MiPlayer is now part of the Deployed Welfare Package, and PJHQ and JFC are seeing improvements to morale among the military and families around the globe.

Since MiPlayer’s earlier, basic version, BFBS Media Innovation has made significant strides in its development. The next step involves introducing a set top box to allow MiPlayer to be used with the full functionality of a conventional TV.

Want to know how our MiPlayer can support you? Email our team at [email protected]​​​​​​​.