FIFA network tackles tough challenge

The World Cup soccer tournament taking place in Germany is not only the planet's largest sporting event; during the four weeks of play through July 9, it's also home to what many experts say is the world's biggest communications network built for a single event.

More than 15 terabytes of data, the equivalent of more than 100 million printed books, will travel across a converged voice and data communications network that links stadiums, control centers, management offices, hotels, railroad stations, and other numerous outlets involved in the championship. Since the games began on June 9, more than 8 terabytes have already crossed the network.

"The tournament is a unique networking challenge," Peter Meyer, head of IT at the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), which is hosting the games, said Saturday at a news conference in Munich. "The network had to be built relatively quickly and it must be very reliable."

With more than three billion fans following the games in the stadiums, public viewing areas and on TV -- the most viewed World Cup ever -- "this isn't a good time to make a mistake," Meyer added.

By the time the games are over, more than 200,000 people, including the 15,000 sports reporters, will have connected to the network, built and managed by Avaya Inc.

Avaya has installed an all-IP (Internet Protocol) network, which, for the first time in the history of the games, includes voice as an integrated and not dedicated service, according to Douglas Gardner, managing director of the Avaya FIFA World Cup program. As part of its VOIP (voice over IP) service, the Basking Ridge, New Jersey, vendor is providing a centralized, server-based directory service, as well as client software that allows authorized users to make phone calls from their notebook computers.

Toshiba, like Avaya, an official sponsor of the 2006 World Cup games, has equipped FIFA organizers with more than 3,000 notebook computers for the event. The Japanese manufacturer is also collaborating with Avaya in the area mobility.

"There are a lot of people moving around at the games -- inside the stadiums and between them and to many other locations," said Toshiba spokesman Manuel Linnig. "We've configured the notebooks for quick, easy access to all the LANs and wireless LANs within the FIFA network and have installed several security features, including fingerprint readers."

Although WLAN (wireless LAN) technology is widely deployed at all 12 stadiums and numerous other official locations, FIFA has required that systems at all these sites be linked by cable as well. "Wireless is great because it gives us added flexibility," Meyer said. "But since we need to ensure connectivity at all times, we need cable and we have plenty of it -- more than 8,000 kilometers."

Even though photojournalists can send digital photos to their editors over WLAN hotspots directly from the field sidelines, most are using Ethernet cable connections, according to Meyer. "I guess they prefer to play it safe," he said.