Open up those Olympic pipes

Mike Cuckow suggests a pipe-opener - speed preparation to ensure intense activity can be sustained - could be needed for customer networks in advance of the Games

It is not just congestion on the roads and the Underground we need to worry about during the Olympic Games this summer. What about the inevitable congestion on our data networks?

I can just see it now: Jessica Ennis limbers up for the first of her heptathlon events at Olympic Stadium. A hush descends in many UK offices, and before you know it, not only has the workforce ground to a halt but so has the network.

I was talking to a customer last week, an IT manager, who claimed that during the 2011 men's semi-final between Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon, the network he works on nearly collapsed. Simultaneous demands for online streaming of this match in real time was just too much.

One answer could be to get your customers to ban online downloads at work. You could make live TV available on the IP network.

For the latter, there are some key advantages – not least the fact that you can agree a schedule in advance to ensure key highlights are viewable live at the desktop.

Customers could also ensure the Games are being screened in their reception area, for example, but not delivered to specific parts of the data network. Customers could have digital terrestrial TV or digital satellite TV directed to where they want it to play.

IPTV is easy to install and does not require a large capital cost. Multicasting an IP stream on one channel will typically require 3Mbit/s to 5Mbits/s.

People will want to watch the Olympics. However, if they know they can see the best moments even when they are in the office, and you can keep the network running smoothly throughout, the Games don't have to be an IT headache.

Mike Cuckow is sales director at CableTime