About Rare TV
Rare TV is an award-winning independent television production company, producing ambitious factual programming for leading broadcasters around the world. Operating internationally and often in remote environments, the company delivers complex productions where dependable communications are essential to keeping crews connected, maintaining safety and ensuring filming stays on schedule.
Supporting a Complex International Production
For Extreme Airport Africa, Rare TV embarked on a five-month production spanning South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Madagascar.
Around 30 crew members rotated throughout the project, travelling continuously between airports, remote filming locations and aerial environments, often without a fixed production base. As schedules evolved, production teams needed to remain connected regardless of where filming took them.
Communication sat at the heart of the operation. Crews relied on WhatsApp to coordinate logistics, share files and manage day-to-day production, while mobile devices were also used to capture content during filming. Dynamic risk assessments needed to be completed and approved in real time before every flight and helicopter journey, making dependable mobile connectivity fundamental to both operational efficiency and crew safety.
Having previously partnered with GTN during the production of Celebrity Race Across the World across South America, Rare TV wanted a communications partner that understood the realities of international television production and could deliver a solution capable of supporting another demanding overseas project.
As Holly explained:
"We run everything off of WhatsApp, and sometimes we even film on our phones. Without good connectivity, our operations would grind to a halt."
Delivering the Project
GTN designed and delivered a managed international mobility solution built around the way Rare TV operates.
International SIMs and eSIMs provided seamless connectivity across all five countries, allowing production teams to move freely between territories without changing providers, managing multiple roaming agreements or introducing unnecessary administration.
Recognising that crew members would join and leave the production throughout the five-month schedule, GTN enabled SIMs and eSIMs to be allocated and reassigned quickly as personnel changed, giving the production team the flexibility to adapt without disrupting operations.
"The eSIMs made it so easy. I could allocate them to crew members as they arrived, and with plans constantly changing, being able to adjust on the go was invaluable."
Alongside reliable connectivity, GTN provided real-time usage monitoring to give complete visibility of international costs throughout filming, supported by a dedicated 24/7 support team available whenever assistance was needed, regardless of location or time zone.
The Results
By removing connectivity as an operational risk, GTN enabled Rare TV to focus entirely on delivering the production.
Throughout five months of filming across five African countries, production teams remained connected wherever they were working, allowing crews to communicate seamlessly, coordinate activities and share information without interruption. Reliable mobile connectivity ensured safety-critical risk assessments could be approved in real time before flights and aerial filming, helping maintain both production schedules and safe working practices.
The managed mobility solution simplified day-to-day operations. As approximately 30 crew members rotated throughout the project, SIMs and eSIMs could be reassigned in minutes, removing the administrative burden of sourcing new connectivity or managing multiple suppliers as filming moved between countries.
Real-time usage reporting gave the production team complete confidence in international costs, ensuring connectivity remained commercially predictable throughout the five-month project, while 24/7 support meant expert assistance was always available whenever it was needed.
Most importantly, connectivity never became a barrier to production. Instead of managing telecoms, Rare TV's production team could concentrate entirely on delivering the series, confident that communications would support every stage of the project.
"If we hadn't had good cell service, it would have been a nightmare. The team relied on instant communication to approve risk assessments and ensure safe filming conditions."
Holly Hubble, Production Manager, Rare TV
"The support team was second to none. Any time I had an issue, even at odd hours, they were there to help. That kind of reliability is priceless in a high-pressure production environment."
Holly Hubble, Production Manager, Rare TV
Supporting Future Productions
Following successful productions across South America and Southern Africa, GTN continues to support Rare TV with reliable global connectivity and responsive support, helping production teams stay focused on delivering exceptional content wherever filming takes them.
"GTN made my job so much easier. Managing telecom needs across five countries could have been a nightmare, but with GTN, I didn't even have to think about it. The service was seamless, the support was outstanding, and the cost transparency was a huge relief. I tell everyone in TV production that they need to use GTN – I wouldn't go anywhere else."
Holly Hubble, Production Manager, Rare TV
