T-mobile recently partnered with Healium, a virtual human performance channel, to provide free virtual "flights" to terminally ill or aging Veterans unable to physically travel to see their memorials in Washington, DC.
It’s Military Appreciation Month, and we honor those who have served our country. T-Mobile today announced it is teaming up with Healium to bring a virtual Honor Flight experience to veterans living in small towns across the country, transporting them with the power of Virtual Reality (VR) and 5G to visit the Washington D.C. war memorials from the comfort of their own homes.
There’s no need to travel. T-Mobile and Healium are equipping Honor Flight Network volunteers with VR headsets and Inseego 5G MiFi M2000 hotspots, so our country’s veterans can virtually experience the sights and sounds of the memorials dedicated to them. With T-Mobile Extended Range 5G covering 1.6 million square miles, this toolkit enables volunteers to travel to remote locations, meet with veterans in their homes and run a high-bandwidth VR experience using the T-Mobile 5G network.
From the comfort of their living rooms, veterans are virtually transported to Washington D.C. — just as if they were there in person — where they can tour the war memorials that commemorate their service and honor their fallen comrades. In the virtual tours, veterans can hear the sound of the Rainbow Pool, watch the Changing of the Guard at Arlington National Cemetery, and visit the World War II Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Women in Military Service For America Memorial. There’s even a virtual tour of the USS Nimitz in the Pacific Ocean.
“We are losing our World War II Veterans at a rate of hundreds a day, and sadly many may not live long enough to be able to see their memorials in person,” said Sarah Hill, CEO, Healium. “This is a such a powerful application that can help us reach Veterans, including those living in small towns and remote locations. While nothing is as good as a real, in-person Honor Flight trip, this is a beautiful way to take Veterans there if they’re not able to travel.”
Healium is as an early leader in Mixed Reality solutions designed to improve mental fitness. Since 2015, it has supported the volunteer efforts of Central Missouri Honor Flight, a non-profit organization dedicated to honoring those who served and sacrificed for our country. The Honor Flight Network is a national network of independent Hubs, each dedicated to transporting U.S. military veterans to see the Washington, D.C. war memorials at no cost to the veterans.
“5G is the enabler for VR applications that can transport us to new places, giving us immersive experiences that better connect us to our world,” said John Saw, EVP of Advanced & Emerging Technologies at T-Mobile. “We are delighted to team up with Healium and Honor Flight Network to help give back to those who have served our country. With 5GForAll we can bring transformative services such as this to everyone, including those living in rural America.”
Building #5GForAll
T-Mobile is America’s 5G leader with the largest, fastest and most reliable 5G network. T-Mobile’s Extended Range 5G covers 295 million people across 1.6 million square miles. That’s 4x more geographic coverage than Verizon and 2x more than AT&T. And with Sprint now part of T-Mobile, the Un-carrier is widening its lead, lighting up Ultra Capacity 5G across the country, bringing fast 5G speeds to more places than anyone else. Ultra Capacity 5G can deliver speeds around 300 Mbps with peaks of 1 Gbps, and now covers 140 million people.
Incredible and innovative 5G products and services are quickly being built, and they require a 5G network with capacity and broad reach, one that’s being built to support virtually all types of use cases and provide unprecedented reach. It’s called #5GForAll and only T-Mobile can build it. With its supercharged 5G network as the foundation, T-Mobile is fueling 5G innovation and building the 5G ecosystem with a number of initiatives. The Un-carrier collaborates with universities and standards bodies to support 5G research and development. In addition to running the award-winning T-Mobile Accelerator, it operates the T-Mobile Ventures investment fund and is a co-founder of the 5G Open Innovation Lab. From employee benefits and military discounts, to its pledge to hire 10,000 Veterans and military spouses by 2023, T-Mobile is honored to serve those who serve our country. Find out more on our website. And, follow T-Mobile’s Official Twitter Newsroom @TMobileNews to stay up to date with the latest company news.
