Off the Wire
Tokyo 2020 to be the most technologically advanced Games ever
November 29, 2019 Teresa Cottam Views 0
Image by Sofia Terzoni from Pixabay
Major sporting events have become major showcases for technology, as well as both opportunities and challenges for service providers before, during and after the event itself. The Tokyo Olympics is no different. It's already apparent that this is going to be the most connected, most technologically advanced and most mobile Games ever.
While the Games represents a challenging peak in demand for connectivity, this comes on top of a background of surging demand for guaranteed high-capacity connectivity between APAC and the rest of the world, according to international communications enabler BICS – which says demand is being driven by increasing IoT connectivity and the rollout of 5G. But the sheer number of visitors and the amount of technology being embedded in the Games is set to boost connectivity demand even more.
Keen to maintain its reputation as a cutting-edge country when it comes to technology, Japan has plans for robots to greet athletes and guests, and retrieve javelins. Autonomous taxis will move visitors from the airport to sporting venues. 3D Athlete Tracking will be delivered on live broadcasts; virtual reality training will support athletes; and immersive event opportunities will delight audiences worldwide. While AI facial recognition will be used for increased and efficient event security, and instant, automatic translation devices will overcome language barriers.
Even the 5,000 Olympic medals will be made out of recycled mobile phones. Japanese citizens have donated 4.32 million of them, along with 34,000 tonnes of other electronic devices. And, in little more than a year, over 36lbs of gold (16.5kg), 3,960lbs of silver (1,800kg) and 5,940lbs (2,700kg) of bronze has been retrieved, which is being used to manufacture the Olympic medals.
Demand for connectivity has seen a specially commissioned satellite deployed for the duration of the Games. While BICS has deployed an additional point-of-presence (PoP) in Tokyo that connects directly to its global network infrastructure in order to reduce latency and improve quality of service. It has also added new routes from Hong Kong to Japan, and from Japan to LA, which have resulted in a tenfold increase in connectivity and a significant reduction in latency. As Japan is only accessible via submarine networks, adding capacity at the right cost and quality can be challenging.
"Due to our active footprint in the APAC region and global infrastructure, we've been able to upgrade capacity and connectivity in Japan and offer higher quality services at competitive prices. With the service now live, benefits are already being recognized by operators, subscribers and IoT businesses – all of which can feel confident that our global network will support their future connectivity needs too," says Malcolm Chan, MD Asia Pacific at BICS.
Meanwhile, national carrier NTT is deploying 1,300 WiFi access points at the main venue for the 2020 Olympics. This will enable spectators to seamlessly stream and receive video to their mobiles. "We want to support the quadrennial games by preparing the world's best Internet environment," it said in a statement.
NTT is both a major sponsor of the Games, as well as in charge of the comms infrastructure and cybersecurity. Amongst a range of innovation it is rolling out is an AI-based anti-congestion system which will assess the flow of traffic from both domestic and roaming users, combine this with information from the Tokyo Metro, and then predict potential congestion to help the Metro improve planning for its train services.
However, in the age of smart devices, IoT and drones, Tokyo is also bracing for a slew of cyberattacks and fraud attempts. The number of cyberattacks has risen steadily over the last few games, with London 2012 seeing 250 million attempted attacks, and Rio 2016 experiencing 500 million. Tokyo 2020 could very well see that number double again and break the billion, as attacks related to the event have already started.
In September 2019, for example, Microsoft reported that at least "16 national and international sporting and anti-doping organisations" were attacked using tactics such as spear phishing, password spraying and exploitation of vulnerabilities in internet-connected devices.
Not surprisingly, the Japanese government has made cybersecurity high priority and a means of increasing its expertise in this area. Although it has to be said, the Japanese press recently had a field day when it was revealed the minister in charge of cybersecurity had never used a PC and didn't seem to know what a USB drive was, leading to jokes that his offline presence *was* his cybersecurity policy.
But even beyond the cyber risks, fraud has also increased with a 2018 attempt to dupe people in the US and Japan with fake ticket offers, and organisers having to void nearly 7,000 tickets bought with fake IDs. ID verification is therefore high on the priority list of technologies being utilised to improve the visitor experience.
Tokyo 2020 offers the opportunity for Japan to showcase its technological credentials, throwing down the gauntlet for New Zealand's hosting of the Rugby World Cup (2021) and Qatar's FIFA World Cup in 2022. It's also a showcase for a range of emerging technologies, as well as providing lessons in resilience testing for QoE in demanding connected environments. B2B service providers worldwide would be wise to keep a weather eye on its successes, challenges and hard-learned lessons.
Please feel free to share
technologically advanced
The world of games is a compelling glimpse into new business models
May 2, 2018 Alex Leslie Views 0
If you want to see where technology is going, so they say, watch pornography and games. Whoever 'they' are (and they obviously spend too much time watching both), they are probably right. Even if you Read more…
China bans Tencent's "Monster Hunter: World" game
August 14, 2018 News Centre News 0
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chinese regulators have blocked the sale of technology giant Tencent's blockbuster video game "Monster Hunter: World", less than a week after it was launched. The game, where players hunted fearsome creatures, Read more…
ESports should drop violent titles: Alisports chief
September 4, 2018 News Centre News 0
JAKARTA (Reuters) – ESports will shift away from violent content and towards sports-focused titles for the 2022 Asian Games, the CEO of Alisports, Chinese tech giant Alibaba's sports arm, told Reuters on Sunday. Alisports CEO Read more…
Niall Norton, CEO, Openet on its 20th Birthday – and the future
Friday Futures: UFOs – humans from the future, beating cancer
Convenience is top of consumer's minds in Southeast Asia
ZTE has a clear view on where network operators need to focus
Sterlite Tech and Elitecore – merger for success that offers the complete network package
The MarTech Summit, Singapore 20-21 February
AVIA OTT Summit 2020, Singapore 5-6 March
SportsPro OTT Summit Asia, Singapore 25-26 March
Money20/20 Asia, Singapore 24-26 March
ML Conference 2020, Singapore 24-26 March
What's the difference between White-Hat vs Black-Hat hacking?
Technology is changing the way we work rapidly - are you ready?
ZTE, China Telecom launch 5G remote diagnosis of coronavirus
Augmented Reality – AR – is the Next Big Thing, Tim Cook says so
Jebb on Operator voice revenue to drop 45% by 2024 – OTT challenge
Lisa Hendra on You know 5G has made it when people think it will kill them
Lisa Cutter on Latest tech devices enable seniors to age in place comfortably
Peter Mulwa on How blockchain could transform wholesale … in ten or 20 years
Archives Select Month January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 April 2016
Convenience is top of consumer's minds in Southeast Asia
India's demonetization a fascinating case study of cash-reform shock therapy
The hardest part of building a super app empire? Talent!
© Disruptive.Asia 2019
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with that.OKRead more