NEW YORK-France Telecom Inc. is putting the finishing touches on elaborate preparations that began three years ago for France 98, the month-long World Cup soccer tournament coming up this summer.
Some 2.5 million people are expected to attend the World Cup, of which about 800,000 will be coming from outside France. Wireline and wireless telecommunications traffic at each site during a match is expected to equal the volume 20,000 people would generate. There are 10 stadiums where competition will take place.
The carrier won a competitive bid process to become the official telecommunications operator for the French Organizing Committee of the World Cup. It has dedicated 1,300 employees exclusively to the event in addition to others working on special projects related to the tournament.
“The contract signed by the French Organizing Committee and France Telecom encompasses all the telecommunications and data transmission needs of the Committee and accredited attendees; [our] commitment covers the provision of a suite of products and services at no charge,” the company said.
The organizing committee, known as the CFO, comprises 500 members and an additional 10,000 volunteers. CFO members will have 1,800 Itineris Global System for Mobile communications cellular phones at their disposal and an equal number of pagers for access to Expresso paging service.
France Telecom’s cellular and paging users and customers will be able to take advantage of a special short messaging service with real-time updates for: World Cup results and information, weather and traffic reports, national and international news, events and other tourist information and specialized information tailored to journalists and guests of World Cup corporate sponsors.
France Telecom also will provide private mobile radio service at all 10 stadiums for operations and security personnel.
