HBS Telecom Partner

Deutsche Telekom AG is the official 2006 FIFA World Cup™ Telecommunications Partner. T-Systems, one of the Deutsche Telekom subsidiaries, was selected by HBS to be responsible for broadcast telecommunication services and to oversee implementation of the telecom infrastructure for the event.

HBS and T-Systems established a Joint Booking Office at the IBC and developed a full range of telecommunications services over and above the stadiums to IBC services.

More details about T-Systems can be found at: http://www.t-systems-mediabroadcast.com

Telecom Infrastructure and Interconnections (IBC and Venues)

T-Systems designed a solution to overcome two specific difficulties:

The dedicated network for the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ operations used a redundant optical fibre network within Germany that connected all 12 stadiums to the IBC in Munich, using advanced technologies such as DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplex) transmissions. This network connected the stadiums to the IBC through two protected routes, so as to preserve the reliability offered by the network concept.
The dedicated network was available during the “match period" only, (e.g. defined as –120min to +105min for the first round) and catered to the multilateral needs of HBS and to the unilateral needs of Broadcast Partners.

A dedicated network was available outside of match period. These two networks provided Broadcast Partners with a range of cost efficient solutions to connect stadiums to the IBC.

Multilateral SD and HD feeds are transported uncompressed.
During "match periods", high quality circuits were used for Unilateral VandAs.
Outside of "match periods", data reduced circuits were available 24/7.
An innovative solution made all commentary circuits available at the IBC in better than 15kHz quality, thus avoiding the need for coding equipment as well as additional delays.

National network

Satellite Distribution

Together with its satellite provider partners, HBS organised satellite distribution of the International Signal for all 64 matches of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™.