Sports, Media, and Entertainment

Enabling the broadcast of digital content

The Paris Olympics intends to be one of the leanest modern Games ever staged. The city is reusing many existing stadia and building temporary stands to turn the city's famous landmarks into photogenic backdrops for TV viewers. Expect beach volleyball in front of the Eiffel Tower and fencing in the Grand Palais to be standouts.

The Games will also, undoubtedly, be the most digital in history. Ticketing and access controls will be digital; there will be digital wayfinding and in-app purchasing. But perhaps the biggest difference will be in how content from the Games is created and consumed.

Tokyo 2020 saw a huge increase in the amount of content consumed via streaming or social channels. Its Olympic web and app platforms attracted more than 196 million unique users, three times more than Rio 2016. Paris 2024 will take this to the next level. Content will come from a new breed of global content makers, direct from the athletes, spectators, and sponsors.

That is not to discount the traditional broadcasters. There will be a record number of broadcasters from around the world covering the Games, with more live coverage—and a 20 percent rise in media rights revenues.

It is critical that Paris 2024 puts on an incredible Games, and that the world sees a remarkable summer of sport. An essential part of this means ensuring the global media has everything it needs to tell a story. City-wide connectivity will be key. The organizers have installed 10,000 wireless access points across the city. The challenge will be to find and eliminate blackspots.

Seamless connectivity on the go

While most of the events are concentrated within Paris city center, Paris is also making use of its outlying suburbs. The grounds of the Chateau de Versailles will host the equestrian events, with golf and cycling nearby. Vaires sur Marne to the east of the city will host canoeing and rowing.

The Games organizers are providing 20 55-seat coaches to transport media to the venues. Each venue will be blanketed in high-speed wireless connectivity, as will the city center media facility. But with journey times from the city center lasting up to an hour each way, the organizers wanted to ensure journalists could post content while on the road.

"We know Paris traffic can be challenging at times," says Thierry Vaneycke, manager, network and fixed telecom at Paris 2024. "We have to ensure the best connectivity possible throughout their journeys."

Cisco is an official partner of Paris 2024, continuing an engagement with the Olympic Games that goes back to London 2012. It is working on a number of connectivity projects across this year's Games, including the 20 media coaches.

Each coach includes a Cisco Catalyst IR1800 Rugged Series Router, connecting to the 5G provided by Orange. Cisco Spaces then creates a single sign-on captive portal experience to ensure simple, secure, and seamless Wi-Fi access, on any day, on any of the 20 coaches. It also provides valuable insights into daily activity and usage.

"Cisco provided a unified solution," says Vaneycke. "Plus, we're working to very short timeframes. Cisco fully tested the solution before deployment."

Helping tell the story of the Games

The solution ensures a seamless and secure wireless connectivity experience for global media. Once users log on for the first time, using an email address linked to their media accreditation, they will be recognized every time they board a coach over the next six weeks.

The Cisco solution ensures access to robust 5G connectivity, allowing the upload of audio and video digital content. Journalists will be able to post media-rich previews on the journey to each day's event and file reports on the journey home.

Cisco Spaces will create daily reports on each journey, highlighting the number of network users and bandwidth consumption. Onboard CCTV cameras, also connected to the network, will confirm numbers. If there are any issues, Cisco support teams are on hand to address them.

Vaneycke says the use of Cisco solutions and expertise reflects the importance of the project. "Cisco is really engaged in the Games, plus they have deployment experience in this type of project going back years. It's really important we have a partner with a validated design and experience we can trust."