As she hurtles down the slope there is a deafening roar from the crowd, TV cameras follow her, 1,300 journalists are reporting, thousands of spectators take photos and update their social media profiles, and 700 million TV viewers globally follow her to the finish line.
It is hard to grasp the amount of data transmitted from Åre, Sweden, to all over the world. And everything must work perfectly for all the media teams. Eltel was assigned the task of ensuring that Telia’s most demanding customers were happy when the World Championships started on 4 February 2019.
Time was short and there wasn’t any room for missed deadlines. First, more than 600 kilometres of fibre connection to Stockholm had to be updated. Then a local network for transmitting film and sound had to be built, a fully-equipped press centre established and 40 access points installed on the slope which, in turn, were divided into hundreds more. Also, several international TV crews working with analogue technology needed copper cables instead of fibre.
Planning was key. The coordination with construction companies and other parties was one factor. Another factor was the temperature, which could decrease to -30°C, making it impossible to work outside. When the weather permitted, the team brought out skis in order to install access points on the slope.
During the first days of February 2019, the international media teams rolled in. Eltel was prepared. Everything was ready, tested and worked exactly as planned. When the World Championships were over, the Eltel team was almost as pleased as Anna Swenn-Larsson.
During the World Championships in Åre 2019, Anna Swenn-Larsson made one of the best runs in her career and came in a strong second place after the fourth-time reigning world champion Mikaela Shiffrin from the USA.
