BT Promises London 2012 Will Be ‘Most Connected Games’

BT has spoken about some of the challenges it has faced preparing the communications services for this summer’s Olympic Games in London and reiterated that it will be “the most connected games ever.”

The telecom giant said that there was nothing more it could have done to deliver the infrastructure necessary and said that plans were in place to deal with any problems that might arise during both the Olympics and the Paralympics.

BT will be providing telephone and data connections to Olympic venues and the athletes’ village, as well as the most extensive high-density Wi-Fi network in Europe in the Olympic Park so that athletes, games officials, journalists and spectators will have “levels of access not seen at previous Olympic Games.”

At peak times, BT’s network will carry 60Gbps of information, the equivalent of 3,000 photographs every second.

Intensive testing

“We’ve been training for four and a half years for this fantastic opportunity,” said Howard Dickel, client partner at the BT London delivery programme. “The key thing from a BT perspective is that for the first time we are operating an integrated network.”

Dickel called it a “once in a lifetime” opportunity, adding that the last time the company had been involved with the Olympics was 1948. Obviously, a lot has changed since then, but Dickel remains confident that test events, lab simulations and participation in the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s two  technical rehearsals mean that it is sufficiently prepared.

BT has been involved in 200 days of testing in what Dickel said was the “most extensive testing regime that there’s been for a summer games.”

However he admitted that the unique logistics of the games had caused some difficulties. BT has just six hours in the four days between the end of the opening ceremony and the beginning of athletics events to test the communications.

Existing structures such as the O2 and the ExCel centre are more straightforward, but temporary venues such as Horseguards Parade and Hyde Park must be transformed into world class facilities in a matter of days. Wimbledon was only handed over on Monday following the conclusion of this year’s Championships at the weekend.

A team of 850 people will be onsite and every venue will have a manager responsible for the smooth running of the operation.

Wi-Fi in the Village

BT will be bringing fibre to every apartment in the Olympic Village using Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) technology so that athletes can keep in contact, while Wi-Fi connectivity will also be provided.

“Wi-Fi is going to be extremely important for athletes in the village because you want to normalise,” said Dame Kelly Holmes, who won gold medals in the 800 and 1,500 metres at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. “Having access to Wi-Fi in the village gives them access to friends and family outside the village.”

Spectators will also have access to the Wi-Fi network, although many will have to pay to access it. BT seems confident that it will satisfy the demands of visitors who now expect an “enriched experience.”

“We’re putting as much Wi-Fi capability as we can within the laws of physics. If you have too many there’s too much interference and you get diminishing returns,” said Dickel.

Wider responsibilities

There have been concerns that increased demands on broadband and 3G networks during the games could have an adverse effect on other businesses, but BT was adamant that it had done enough to ensure that life could carry on as normal.

“A Successful Olympic Games for BT will not only mean delivering Olympics, but to ensure that normal businesses will continue,” said Roel Louwhoff, CEO of BT Operate.

BT’s responsibilities also extend to the press centre and International Broadcast Centre (IBC), which Tim Boden, technology director of BT London 2012 Delivery Programme has labelled a “city in its own right.”

The press centre launched one week ago and is already offering live services. BT has had 1,000 orders for services in the IBC and 10,000 orders from the press centre. It will provide fibre connections, ISDN circuits for commentators and the main five press agencies will have enough capacity to send 50 million photos during the games each.

More than 27,000 media personnel will be reliant on BT’s infrastructure and the company will also host the official London2012.com website, which is planning for one billion visits during the Games.

“If the press and the media don’t get the services they need, then the world doesn’t get to see the Olympics,” said Boden.

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