London 2012: the networked world of the Olympics

[Fiona]

BT was delighted to be involved in London’s successful bid to host the 2012 Olympics – and particularly pleased that our investment in the UK’s 21st Century Network (21CN) played such a key role in the bid.

21CN is the world’s biggest network transformation program, designed to enable the delivery of a new generation of compelling, converged communications services. It’s the UK component of a much wider global IP network that BT is already hard at work developing. This next-generation, converged global network is central to BT’s vision of future business, government and domestic life.

Part of BT‘s involvement in the Olympic bid was in drawing up the technology theme, which the team knew had to demonstrate clear superiority. The result drew on BT’s long-term industry leadership and experience, and will rely on a wide range of BT capabilities to deliver a cost effective, safe and enjoyable experience for spectators and athletes.

By 2012, the 21CN component will have been completed and in operation for some time – so what changes might we see when the Olympic torch is lit?

BT has committed to underwrite the costs of a fibre-optic network installation in the Olympic Village in east London, which will become part of 21CN. As the athletes line up, BT networks will connect the Olympic Village with the rest of the world, linking athletes and trainers, spectators and sponsors, the media, business and hundreds of millions of spectators around the world. It will be a truly global phenomenon, which is particularly fitting for the Olympics.

We’ll doubtless still be making phone calls, but there will be a host of other ways to connect with people through different devices, using different media, across a single IP network. The next generation network will be more extensive, higher performance and more capable, allowing people to communicate and work together, carrying enormous volumes of multimedia information, and enabling transactions to take place faster than ever before.

For businesses and other organisations, 21CN will enable new ways of communicating and collaborating with their customers, their employees and suppliers. The way we do business in 2012 will seem unusually fast, efficient and seamless to today’s eyes.

The truth is, we can’t know for certain what the world will look like in 2012. Part of the purpose of BT’s global network investment is to enable new ways of communicating and new ways of doing business, and who can say what new innovations may characterise that future landscape? One thing’s for sure: when the Olympic torch is lit, the world will be a more connected place.

bt.com