Exceptional Olympic and Paralympic Games
The 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, marking the XXXIII Olympiad of the modern era, took place over the summer. This global event highlighted crucial issues such as data security and the robustness of telecoms and IT networks.
With an unprecedented opening ceremony on the Seine and events taking place in the heart of Paris, the Games represented a major technological challenge for telecoms operators, particularly for premium partner Orange. Unlike previous editions, Orange was responsible for the complete installation of the telecommunications infrastructure. In addition to enabling spectators to communicate and share their memories in real time on social networks, one of the major challenges was to provide secure, priority private networks, supported by a recently deployed 5G network.
Overview of the project
To meet the varied needs of Paris 2024, Orange led several projects, including the ‘SP9’ project, which aimed to implement an operational group communications solution. This solution, inspired by ‘walkie-talkie’ networks, made it possible to communicate simultaneously with several recipients, thereby improving the responsiveness, coordination and efficiency of the organising teams.
Orange proposed a prioritised group communications offering on its network, transforming traditional “walkie-talkie” networks through the use of very high-speed networks and smartphones. This turnkey solution is based on three pillars:
- Push-to-X application: Enables instant group calls and file and video sharing at the touch of a button.
- Quality of service: Guarantees an optimal customer experience thanks to prioritisation mechanisms and guaranteed bandwidth on the 4G network.
- Adapted terminals: Offer extreme resistance, great autonomy and business-specific functionalities.
Challenges and constraints
Pour satisfaire les exigences du comité d'organisation de Paris 2024, l'offre d'Orange Business devait intégrer de nouvelles fonctionnalités et services, tels que :
To meet the requirements of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, the Orange Business offering had to incorporate new functionalities and services, such as:
- Specific functionalities tailored to the needs of Paris 2024.
- A dedicated application ecosystem, with mobile device management.
- New accessories such as headsets and audio headsets.
- Highly binding service level agreements (SLAs) to guarantee the availability of the solution.
- These constraints necessitated ongoing optimisation of the solution, with Paris 2024 as its first major customer.
Coached by Sofrecom
To meet these ambitious specifications, Sofrecom played a key role in managing several simultaneous projects, with a fixed deadline for the start of the Games. The actions carried out included
- Orchestration of the entities involved to prepare an adapted network and service.
- Improving business continuity and recovery plans, as well as incident management processes.
- Carrying out audits and remediation plans to secure the network, including a security monitoring centre (SOC) to anticipate risks.
- Technical indicators for daily monitoring and customer feedback.
For example, 1,400 push-to-talk mobiles were used for the opening ceremony on the Seine, and 600 at the Stade de France for the closing ceremony, each equipped with specific accessories.
Impact and benefits for the customer
Sofrecom drew on its project management expertise to bring this complex project to a successful conclusion. The solution was successfully deployed, with :
- An operational service at all Olympic and Paralympic sites.
- Highly satisfactory audio quality of communications.
- A record 6,300 users connected to communication groups in one day.
- No cyber incidents reported.
- Users satisfied with the speed of use and reliability of communications, outperforming traditional VHF radios.
Feedback from the Paris 2024 organising committee emphasised: "The Push-To-Talk service has gone from a red alert point after the 2023 tests to the top 5 satisfaction points after the games. That shows the work that's been done and you can be proud of it."
Why call on Sofrecom's experts?
Calling on Sofrecom for large-scale events guarantees effective management of various aspects such as business continuity, incident management, cybersecurity and continuous improvement. Their ability to mobilise the best experts and manage suppliers ensures optimal execution, guaranteeing the success of the event.
