It is creating enduring memories for millions of fans and will go down as the first world soccer contest hosted by an African nation. But the 2010 FIFA World Cup is also proving notable for technology watchers as networks become more deeply entrenched in the business of sport.

One of the first indications that technology would play an important part in the run up and celebration of the event came in March this year.

That was when Deutsche Telekom announced that the Deutscher Fußball Bund (DFB), the German football association, would use its Deutschland TelePresence service, based on Cisco technology, to help with preparations for the Cup.

In collaboration with Cisco, Deutsche Telekom equipped the DFB headquarters in Frankfurt, the national team coach, Joachim Löw, and his staff with a live conferencing solution.
TelePresence systems

The complete package comprised Cisco TelePresence systems, broadband network connections, telepresence services, security and technical customer support.

The service, which uses high-definition video and wideband audio to create an immersive meeting experience, enabled the president, secretary, coaches and managers to have important face-to-face discussions about team strategy and reach agreements faster.

“Our new Deutschland TelePresence service is a complete service package for high-end live conferencing,” says Dirk Backofen, head of Business Customer Marketing at Deutsche Telekom.

“On-screen meetings in HD quality ensure an extremely concentrated and efficient exchange of information, as befits the German team’s World Cup preparations.”

“Cisco TelePresence will connect fans and our audience to the action in ways that weren’t previously possible.”

— Rob Hunter, ESPN vice president for innovation
Digital Media Suite

Video technology came to the fore again for the World Cup kick-off celebration concert in the newly renovated Orlando Stadium in Soweto, Johannesburg.

At the event, Control Room, a leading producer of music events, showcased the Cisco Digital Media Suite, an integrated platform for video collaboration, digital signage, and live and on-demand Internet Protocol Television.

For this musical extravaganza Cisco provided 42-inch high-definition screens, 25 in all, as well as the local area network and wireless access points to some sections of the stadium. This enabled broadcast to several other levels and hospitality areas in the stadium.

All net proceeds from the event benefited ’20 Centers for 2010′, the official campaign of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, and the event also provided a communications platform for 1GOAL, a campaign to which Cisco already donates.
Real-time video

After the concert, Cisco donated portions of the wireless network to Orlando Stadium. But its involvement in relaying video footage from the games did not stop there.

Throughout the Cup, sportscaster ESPN is taking advantage of the Cisco TelePresence HD real-time video for its live coverage, a first for any video communications solution.

In addition, with the deployment of Cisco TelePresence in South Africa ESPN is able to host remote interviews with visiting country leaders, coaches, players and fans, all from highly secure and quiet locations with convenient access to stadium sites.

The remote broadcast interviews captured via Cisco TelePresence are accessible for soccer fans to view on ESPN’s worldwide soccer sites.
Unique content

“Having Cisco Telepresence in the arsenal of content-contribution tools ESPN is using in South Africa allows us to give fans unique content that brings the World Cup one step closer to home,” says Rob Hunter, ESPN vice president for innovation.

“Cisco TelePresence will connect fans and our audience to the action in Capetown and Port Elizabeth in ways that weren’t previously possible.”

Beyond these video technology deployments, however, Cisco was also involved in much of the network plumbing around the competition.

Although not itself an official vendor or partner to FIFA, Cisco’s partners include Telkom South Africa, the official telecommunications provider for the World Cup, and Dimension Data, the systems integrator for much of the stadium fit-out work.
Connecting stadiums

As a result, Cisco technology and expertise was used extensively in the 40 Gbps Multiprotocol Label Switching IP WAN connecting the 10 event stadiums under the terms of Telkom’s FIFA sponsorship deal.

The network edge extends to World Cup stadiums via Cisco Catalyst 6500 platforms delivering 20 Gbps each way in and out of the venues, so that data, voice and high definition video can be relayed to an International Broadcast Centre and beyond.

Cisco also helped with network fit out work for seven of the 10 World Cup stadiums, including all the major venues, through Dimension Data, Fujitsu and the event’s Local Organising Committees.

All the stadiums have voice, video and data connectivity, delivered over Cisco Integrated Services Routers, with network security and limited IP telephony deployments.
Community benefit

Such levels of technology deployment are becoming less and less of a rarity these days but what is particularly noteworthy about the South Africa World Cup is that much of the hardware installed will remain in place after the contest, for the benefit of local and regional communities.

And in a further sign of the extent to which technology is now considered a must-have in major sporting events, earlier this year Football Federation Australia (FFA) revealed Cisco would be its second FIFA World Cup Bid Partner for Australia’s bid to host the 2018 or 2022 event.

The relationship involves providing innovative collaboration and technology hardware solutions that will help FFA bring the FIFA World Cup to Australia. “We welcome Cisco coming on board as an important bid partner,” FFA CEO Ben Buckley says.

“The relationship enables us to better connect with FIFA and the world through the use of state-of-the-art technology, as we continue the bidding process to bring the FIFA World Cup to Australia in 2018 or 2022.

“The support of Cisco strengthens our efforts and helps us to spread the message about our bid both domestically and internationally.”