Barcelona, 04 July 2024. With less than two months to go until the start of the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup, which will take place between August 22 and October 27, Barcelona is finalizing preparations to host the contest for the oldest international sailing trophy, which this year will make history by inaugurating a specific regatta for women’s teams, the Puig Women’s America’s Cup, in addition to the existing youth regatta, the UniCredit Youth America’s Cup.
An event of such scale and international projection requires guaranteed connectivity for smooth data transmission throughout the event and from any point where the regatta takes place. That’s why ACE Barcelona (America’s Cup Event Barcelona, the organizing entity of the event) has entrusted the connectivity services to AFR-IX telecom, an infrastructure and telecommunications operator that owns the Barcelona Cable Landing Station and the Medusa Submarine Cable System, which will be the longest submarine cable in the Mediterranean.
AFR-IX telecom, owner of Medusa, is the connectivity provider for the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup and will provide global coverage to the event, supplying connectivity to the organization. The service is operational from June until November 1st.
High-quality connectivity is key in an event of the magnitude of the America’s Cup, allowing teams and organizers to operate efficiently and fans worldwide to enjoy the action in real time. For us, this agreement represents a challenge and will demonstrate our ability to ensure exceptional performance in such a demanding environment, said, Norman Albi, CEO of Medusa and AFR-IX telecom, who has personal experience in telecommunications for sports events such as the broadcast of the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the Barcelona ’92 and Atlanta ’96 Olympic Games.
Information is power, even in a regatta like the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup, differences between teams can depend on how information is managed to make split-second decisions for the boats to perform at their best. Knowing the wind’s evolution throughout the day, the sea currents, and following the regatta’s itinerary while investing the least amount of time possible all require up-to-date data, which is why having good connectivity is vital. As Leslie Ryan, Event Director of ACE Barcelona, pointed out, she also positively valued the fact that the event’s connectivity was entrusted to a local operator.
Connectivity Provider of the 37th America’s Cup Barcelona
AFR-IX telecom will provide a highly redundant and expandable network circuit according to the event’s needs. This fibre optic ring offers access to DIA services (Dedicated Internet Access, high-speed private connection) with the possibility of traffic balancing (data transfer diversification) in case of incidents.
Based on the metropolitan fibre optic ring and the data processing centres’ infrastructure owned by AFR-IX telecom in the urban and interurban area of the city, AFR-IX has managed to meet two of the most important requirements for this project: guaranteeing a 99.99% redundancy of the communications system and providing access to any additional digital services.
