Confed Cup IT 'a success'

Johannesburg, 30 Jun 2009

The Confederations Cup showcased the best IT infrastructure for a tournament of this nature and stature, and all the information was available in real-time, says Rich Mkhondo, chief communications officer of the Local Organising Committee (LOC).

He adds that a comprehensive power backup plan was developed and put in place to ensure no downtime was experienced at any point during the tournament.

The plan, which included Eskom and local power distributors at every venue location, was put in place to ensure the key areas backed up included the TV compound, stadium lighting, stadium media centre and key IT systems and networks.

Mkhondo notes the backup provided by Sentech performed successfully during the event. Sentech provided satellite backup for the event, mainly to the telecommunications networks and to ensure TV continuity. ICASA provided the LOC with the necessary frequencies and also provided technical support to monitor frequencies during the event and to detect interference and usage of illegal equipment, states Mkhondo.

High marks

The LOC has received favourable feedback from local and international media and broadcasters, it says.

“We are very satisfied with the way in which IT worked and was coordinated throughout the Confederations Cup. We believe we have met our expectations and that of our various stakeholders. We firmly believe the facilities provided were comparable to that at any major tournament in the world,” says Mkhondo.

The telecommunications infrastructure during the tournament included stadium media centres, media tribunes with fast, wireless Internet, television monitors and pitch-side wireless capability for photographers.

“We believe that, with the support of our world-class sponsors for the 2010 Fifa World Cup, we will have the best IT infrastructure to deliver the 2010 Fifa World Cup,” he notes.

More work

Mkhondo adds that the LOC is fully aware that reliable, available and secure telecommunications are critical elements to the success of the upcoming event. All participants require consistent and assured access to information during the event, and the LOC is capable of providing this, he says.

While there was adequate bandwidth capacity for the Confederations Cup, provided through Telkom, it still needs to be increased, he stresses.

“Broadband and infrastructure has always been a challenge on the continent, not just in SA, Mkhondo says. “But we believe this will be addressed and looked into before the tournament next year.”

Mkhondo further notes that increasing requirements will be met during 2010.

“We are aware that work needs to be done to increase the infrastructure capacity for the Fifa World Cup to accommodate the additional bandwidth requirements. Telkom is currently upgrading their network to accommodate the additional bandwidth for the 2010 Fifa World Cup, [and] the LOC believes this tournament has provided us with a solid platform for us to build on.”