Concerns about security and infrastructure reliability led officials to kill plans that would have used wireless networks to help manage the Summer Olympics, but there will be no shortage of mobile technology in Athens. About 5 million fans are expected during the course of the Games, creating what may be the largest centralized demand for mobile communications in history.
Handset manufacturers, carriers and infrastructure companies have spent millions in an effort to handle the traffic.
c Samsung will supply 14,000 officials and VIPs with phones for real-time scoring updates and events timetables. The Korean manufacturer also launched a new camera phone specifically designed for the Olympics: the SGH-e316, which is offered through AT&T Wireless Services Inc.
c California-based Powerwave Technologies Inc. installed more than 100 fiber-optic repeater sites in the Olympic Athletic Center in Athens to improve GSM and UMTS communications. The project, which was commissioned through and installed by Greek distributor PLURAL S.A., includes coverage in the main stadium, basketball court, aquatics center and Velodrome.
c EDX Wireless L.L.C. of Eugene, Ore., planned and designed TETRA system radio coverage in each of the Olympic venues. EDX’s wireless network design software SignalPro also helped create networks in surrounding cities, such as Thessaloniki, Patra, Volos and Heraklion, Crete.
c Cosmote Mobile Telecommunications invested more than $60 million to upgrade its network in and around Athens. The Greek carrier rolled out the new third-generation network in May and reportedly worked with Vodafone Greece to help address traffic issues.
c EFJ Inc. subsidiary Transcript International provided encryption modules for 3,500 Kenwood two-way radios being used by security personnel in Athens.
c Boingo Wireless of Santa Monica, Calif., partnered with Greek Internet service provider OTE to create 12 Wi-Fi spots at airports, hotels and conference centers in Athens, and Swiss Wi-Fi provider WeRoam also launched service in Greece in time for the Olympics.
