World Cup FRANCE 98 – Press Releases
14 June 1995
France Telecom The Official Telecommunications Operator of the 1998 World Cup.
The French Organizing Committee and France Télécom announced today, the agreement which makes the latter the Official Telecommunications Operator of the 1998 World Cup.
Partner of the Committee from the very beginning for the bid to stage the World Cup in France in 1992, France Télécom was selected, following an international competition for its expertise and its know-how in integrating telecommunications services, quality standards, the security and reliability of its services and the competitiveness of its offer.
The CFO chose France Télécom to ensure the global responsibility for the World Cup telecommunications in the areas of calls, data and images.
From the conception of networks to the implementation of services, and including the supply of materials, France Télécom will be the project manager of the event organisation in the domain of high technology. The national operator will supply the most modern techniques and services, for example a private virtual telephone network with 3,000 phones linking 125 sites, a data transmission network, videoconference networks, mobile communications with Itinéris, Alphapage and professional radio communications (3RP).
All this equipment connected to the operator’s supervised and security networks will allow the 300 members of the CFO and their 10,000 volunteers to stay in contact throughout France. It will also allow the 8 to 10,000 journalists to work under the best conditions, be it from the stadium or the International Media Center in Paris. Hence, this equipment will allow the 37 billion television spectators to follow the 64 matches at the French sites thanks to the world coverage by France Télécom.
After the announcement of the agreement concluded in the domain of information technology with EDS and Hewlett-Packard, France Télécom is the first major French enterprise to join the prestigious circle of Official Suppliers of FRANCE 98 – French Organizing Committee of the 1998 World Cup – French Organizing Committee of the 1998 World Cup.
