NTT Powers Network Overlay for 2020 UEFA Championship

NTT Ltd. a global technology services provider, has announced the completion of network overlay services for the 2020 UEFA European Championship, powering UEFA’s entire digital infrastructure throughout the competition.

COVID-19 created significant challenges, including the postponement from 2020 to 2021, but the championship was successfully hosted across 11 cities, which included 51 matches and 31 days of competition.

NTT’s experience supporting major events and ability to deliver and integrate a portfolio of robust services across multiple sites was key to delivery for an event of this complexity. By combining expert consultancy, project management, and the implementation of mission critical digital infrastructure, NTT implemented and supported the event network for the entire tournament, covering all of the key operations at each stadium. Each stadium has required deployment of LAN and WIFI services to cover multiple zones which include hospitality areas, pitch side services, and media hub zones.

Some key facts about the network that was deployed:

890 switches
1,565 access points
87km of fiber optic cable
245km of copper cable
over 170 people involved in the project delivery

“As Europe’s biggest national football competition, we pride ourselves on bringing together the best-in-class technologies, services and partners to keep things running efficiently. With their unique geographical footprint across all host locations across the continent, NTT has provided reliable infrastructure and expertise.” said Daniel Marion, Chief Information Officer for UEFA.

“Given its international nature, Euro 2020 undoubtedly required a partner that can provide consistent and robust infrastructure support”, said Abhijit Dubey, CEO of NTT Ltd. “We’re thrilled that UEFA chose us to support Europe’s most significant sporting event in addition to our successful working partnership in delivering the 2019 UEFA Champions League final in Madrid. NTT Ltd.’s proven intelligent infrastructure services and unique experience with major sporting brands such as the Tour de France, Indycar and Major League Baseball ensured that every single game runs smoothly so fans in every corner of the world can enjoy the action.”

NTT Ltd.’s extensive partner network meant that local, in-country resources were available to implement, run and de-commission solutions – ensuring a consistent design and service across the board.

The NTT solution was powered in 11 cities across Europe with Cisco Meraki devices for cloud controlled WIFI routing and network security, and Cisco switches for wired networking, including at pitch-side for every game, to create a custom highly specialized solution based on the needs of UEFA and the huge demands on digital infrastructure in order to support UEFA EURO2020. This allowed UEFA to enable world class connectivity for media, broadcasters, sponsors and VIPs at all stadiums and venues associated with the tournament.