You can stop listening for footsteps on the rooftop. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), with the help of CradlePoint and Verizon, is providing toll-free calling (1-877-HI-NORAD) and Internet connectivity so volunteers can help children determine Santa’s whereabouts as he travels across the globe on Christmas Eve.
More than 1,200 Santa tracking volunteers at the NORAD Tracks Santa Operations Center at Peterson Air Force Base will use CradlePoint MBR1400 routers to connect to Verizon’s high-speed 4G LTE network. As volunteers in the call center access the Internet to track Santa, answer emails, update social media, and download apps, the CradlePoint MBR1400s will be used to load balance connectivity across different networks to maximize response times and throughput. Verizon has been providing the toll-free hotline since 2002. In 2010, more than 80,000 calls and 12,000 emails were answered from more than 200 countries.
Starting at 12 a.m. Mountain Time on Dec. 24, children of all ages also can visit the NORAD Tracks Santa website (www.noradsanta.org), which will provide real-time information on Santa’s exact location. The information will be available in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese and Chinese, and will include radar maps and streaming “SantaCam” video images from cities along Santa’s journey.
In addition, for the first time, parents and children can download free smart phone apps in the Apple iTunes Store and in the Android market to count down the days until Santa and his reindeer take off from the North Pole.
Santa also can be tracked through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google + by typing “@noradsanta.”
This marks the 56th year that NORAD, has tracked Santa as he travels around the world. The program began on December 24, 1955 when a Sears department store placed an advertisement in a Colorado Springs newspaper which told children that they could telephone Santa Claus and included a number for them to call. However, the telephone number printed was incorrect and calls instead came through to Colorado Springs' Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) Center.
Colonel Shoup, who was on duty that night, after hearing children ask if they could speak to Santa, told his staff to give all children that called a "current location" for Santa Claus. Thus, a new tradition was born.
At CradlePoint we look forward to celebrating this wonderful tradition on Christmas Eve. As the global leader in 3G/4G wireless solutions, we are proud that our technology is making connections to enrich the lives of countless people worldwide.