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Countdown to London 2012

BT is proud to be the official communications services partner and Openreach is the official telecommunications infrastructure partner for London 2012. BT has been planning for the operational delivery of the Games, in parallel to the delivery of business as usual service. Planning for the Games started in BT three years ago. We are confident in our ability to support the Games and all our customers.

London 2012 represents a significant investment by BT designed to help make London 2012 the most connected Games ever held. BT aims to ensure service continuity for all customers throughout the Games, despite the inevitable disruption that an event of the size and scale of London 2012 will invariably create in parts of London.

As a provider of Critical National Infrastructure, BT is also working to heighten the security of its networks and services to help ensure safety during the Games. BT aims to contribute significantly to the London 2012 legacy, creating an advanced communications infrastructure that will contribute to the transformation of parts of East London.

London 2012 Key Facts

  • Over 14,500 athletes will be competing in the Games
  • Over 27,500 accredited journalists will cover the Games from London
  • Up to 70,000 volunteers are required to make the Games work
  • Almost 11 million tickets are available for the Games, with demand outstripping supply
  • Over 800,000 spectators and 55,000 athletes/officials/media will use public transport to get to the Games on the busiest day
  • Staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games is like staging 46 world championships
  • London 2012 is expected to contribute an additional £21 billion to the UK economy
  • The Olympic Park in East London is the largest park development in the UK for over 100 years
  • 2800 new homes on the Olympic Park will be made available to the public after the Games
  • The Olympics run from 27 July 2012 until 12 August 2012 and the Paralympics from 29 August 2012 until 9 September 2012.

Impact to Businesses

Businesses operating in and around London and the Olympic sites will experience increased difficulties with access and transportation, due to heighted security and increased congestion.

There may also be increased demand for products and services from certain businesses, putting further pressure on supply chains.

It is likely that employees may want to take additional leave to experience the atmosphere of the Games which may cause challenges in ensuring that key resource is available.

Businesses therefore need to ensure they plan for any potential impact well in advance of Games time.

 

Transportation During the Games

  • Businesses based in London are being asked to think about how their people will get into – and travel round - London during the Games.
  • BT is already working on travel/transport plans for our own employees who need to travel in the city to mitigate any impact on customers – these include alternative work locations, flexible hours, or working from home.
  • Since the Games take place during the height of the holiday season, BT managers are being provided with special guidance about managing holiday requests from their people during this time.

 

ClearWay 2012

  • ClearWay 2012 is an initiative from the Olympic Delivery Authority and Transport for London to define and manage the ‘Olympic Route Network’
  • ClearWay 2012 has over-riding powers to minimise disruption while ensuring that ‘Games Family Members’ get to where they need to be in the time promised.
  • As an active participant in ClearWay 2012 for two years, BT is developing strategies to enable our engineers to flex around the restrictions that will be put in place.
  • ClearWay 2012 comes into force from March 1, 2012
  • Further information :
  • http://www.london2012.com/get-involved/business-network/travel-advice-for-business/

 

 

Lessons from Vancouver

 Research commissioned for BT in 2010 following the Vancouver Winter Olympics showed the following:

 

Network capacity

  • One in four organisations surveyed suffered capacity issues with employees/and or customer demand.
  • One in five businesses increased their network capacity ahead of the Games.
  • With hindsight, a third of companies said that they would have increased capacity.
  • Capacity issues were particularly an issue for Media and Leisure companies (57%), Retail (33%) and Financial Services (29%)

Operational Capacity

  • 23% of organisations surveyed increased their call centre capacity ahead of Games time, while 42% experienced a higher than normal level of call centre volumes during Games time.
  • 21% increased their technology security and resilience ahead of the Games.

People Capacity

  • 42% of businesses took no steps to prevent employee absenteeism during the Games
  • 28% of businesses experienced higher levels of staff absenteeism than normal.
  • With hindsight, 30% would have increased flexible working facilities for their staff

Approach with Suppliers to BT

Over 800 BT employees will be dedicated to delivering the communications needs of the London 2012 Games. This means almost 99% of BT staff remain available to support its customers’ non-Games requirements.

We are reviewing all aspects of our business to ensure we are ready, and there will be heightened physical and logical security during the period of the Games.

We are continuously engaged with our largest and most critical suppliers to ensure that all possible impacts are planned for well in advance and mitigated.

We expect all of our suppliers to take an early and pro-active approach to assessing and mitigating risks to their own business, and with any third party suppliers they may have.

It is BT’s intention to help make the Games a great success for London, for BT and for our Customers. Our Suppliers are an important part of this.