TORONTO — Calling them “the most digital Pan Am Games in history”, Cisco Canada shared some fun facts about the technology used for the recent Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games in a press release issued Friday.
Among the tech highlights:
- The Ethernet and dark fibre cable required to connect the Games and all of the 57 venues was longer than 232 CN Towers laid end-to end.
- The Cisco network provided more than 2.4 million hours of free Wi-Fi throughout the Games, equivalent to 274 years of continuous wireless access.
- More than 18,000 wired LAN ports and 2,000 wireless access points were installed across Games venues.
- 300 students from 23 Cisco Networking Academy schools participated in Cisco’s I CAN Develop program as in-venue volunteers, working alongside Cisco and TO2015 technology experts.
What this delivered to spectators, athletes and media:
- More than 38,000 pictures were taken through Cisco Interactive Experience Kiosks and the Cisco Countdown Clock during the Games. 66,129 pictures have been taken since the Countdown Clock was unveiled in July 2014.
- An average of 29,000 wireless devices connected to the Cisco network each day during the Games.
- In total, 155,674 unique wireless devices connected over the 16-day event, consuming more than 79 terabytes of data. That’s enough data for the entire population of Mississauga to watch Andre De Grasse’s 100-metre gold-medal race 36 times — simultaneously.
- An estimated 42,000 people in venues across the Greater Toronto Area were greeted by TORONTO 2015 “virtual” volunteers, who assisted spectators, athletes and media using live, two-way, high-definition video with Cisco TelePresence. More than 92,000 IP phone calls kept the Games running smoothly.
“We are incredibly proud of our partnership with TORONTO 2015 and our role in delivering the most connected Pan Am Games to date,” said Bernadette Wightman, President, Cisco Canada, in the company’s news release. “We accomplished this with tremendous support from our ecosystem partners, the TO2015 organization, and the 150 Cisco Canada employees who volunteered their time. We are now excited to focus on delivering the same technology performance for the Parapan Am Games and leaving a technology legacy that will continue to serve Ontarians long after the Games are over.”
Brian Cook, vice-president of IT for the TO2015 organization, said: “Through Cisco’s innovative technology, team experience and dedication to the Games, we were able to deliver the most digital Pan Am Games in history. They enabled us to provide spectators, technical officials and our operations team with a level of connectivity that would not have otherwise been possible.”
The Toronto 2015 Parapan Am Games run from August 7 to 15.
