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UK Olympics May Lead to More Use of Technology Such as VoIP Adoption in Southern Coast

January 20, 2012

(OLYMPICS TECHNOLOGY)

The 2012 Olympics in Britain will no doubt bring many advantages to the United Kingdom. There are the obvious ones like increased tourism, national pride and benefits to the city of London. But a less apparent benefit relates to the potential expansion of the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) market and other technology in England.


According to a recent report from Telappliant, businesses in the coastal county of Dorset may choose to select VoIP offerings “once the effect of the Olympics has kicked in.” With the Olympics have come some upgrades to the Internet infrastructure in the cities of Weymouth and Portland. These locations will be the site of sailing competitions during the summer Olympics, Telappliant reports.

BT (News - Alert) will include the two cities in a major improvement to the fiber-optic broadband infrastructure. The improvements will be in place before the Olympics start this summer. The technology will be kept in place after the Olympics if there is sufficient demand from business customers, according to Telappliant.

In addition, the summertime event could lead to a proving ground for new technology. For instance, TMCnet reports that “mobile phone and financial services companies are working together to rollout even more devices with a new kind of contactless payment system across Europe” known as Near Field Communication (NFC).

The Olympics Games will be held this summer in and aroundLondon. BT urged the nation to prepare as soon as possible.

“London 2012 is going to be like nothing we’ve ever seen before,” BT said in a recent blog post.  “We’re looking at three months of extreme pressure on services or what Transport for London (TfL) calls ‘around 100 continuous days of extraordinary operation.’”

Overall, the city of London is still working on preparing for the Olympic Games. A recent report in The Times of London said that “London is in solid shape as it approaches the moment when it will become the first city to host the Olympics for a third time, after previous games in 1908 and 1948.”

In its analysis, The Times said major concerns that have arisen relate to two key areas:  security and transportation.

“Will the games be safe from terrorist attack?” the newspaper asked. “Will London’s already-stretched public transport network cope under the added strain?”

When it comes to needed structures, The Times points out that most are already constructed. A centerpiece is a transformed former industrial site in East London that will serve as the Olympic Park.

On a positive note -- unless you are an empty-handed sports fan -- tickets for most of the sporting events are sold out, The Times adds.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO East 2012, taking place Jan. 31-Feb. 3 2012, in Miami, FL. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO registration click here.

Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO. Follow us on Twitter.


Ed Silverstein is a TMCnet contributor. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Rich Steeves