The information on this page is for the exclusive use of HBS staff. Media Rights Licensees should refer to the FIFA TV Extranet.

The IBCC (International Broadcast Coordination Centre) served as the central hub of telecom operations during the FIFA Confederations Cup (FCC). The FCC provided the ideal opportunity to test the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ telecommunications network which Telkom SA have put in place for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.

There was no Technical Operations Centre (TOC) at Mangaung/Bloemfontein, Tshwane/Pretoria and Rustenburg. The match feed in dirty and clean was delivered directly from the tailboard of the truck. From here the feeds were distributed to Telkom SA for transmission to the IBCC although the feed was also available for MRLs present at the venue.

At Ellis Park the full FIFA World Cup™ set-up was in place, with a complete TOC. The TOC was also used as a distribution point of the Basic International Feed (BIF) of all matches to MRLs in Ellis Park.

Signals from all venues were delivered to the IBCC at Ellis Park for monitoring, archiving and internal testing purposes, therefore a basic test of the contribution network in place at the time was planned. This also included testing/configuration of the video adaptation equipment proposed for the FIFA World Cup™.

VIDEO AND AUDIO SIGNALS (VandAs)

The BIF was delivered in dirty and clean versions from each of the three non-Ellis Park venues back to the IBCC. No telecom connectivity was needed for the matches played at Ellis Park, as the IBCC was located within the Broadcast Compound of that venue.

In addition to the two VandAs for dirty and clean, 1x HD VandA from Mangaung/Bloemfontein, Tshwane/Pretoria and Rustenburg was available on a 24/7 basis. All feeds terminated in the IBCC and were made available for distribution to MRLs present at the IBCC.

COMMENTARY/COORDINATION CIRCUITS

As there was no IBC at the FIFA Confederations Cup, commentary operations required only ISDN connectivity at every venue.

However, for testing purposes and on a much smaller scale, the circuits required from Telkom SA for commentary/coordination (STM 1) were tested in terms of bandwidth, quality, protocol, installation and service.

TELECOM ACCESS SERVICES

HBS, together with MATCH and the LOC, coordinated the provision of telephony services at the IBCC and the venues. This included voice telephony, telephone sets, analogue telephone lines, ISDN lines and internet access.

These services were marketed by HBS (from the management of requests to invoicing and payment recovery), following standard booking procedures and subject to HBS Terms and Conditions.

At the venues, telephony services were available, in general, on a match-by-match basis with reference to MRL facilities such as commentary positions, presentation studios, TV studios and Broadcast Compound positions.