BT and Cisco appointed “Official IT and Telecommunications Partners of the BMW International Open 2009”

Communications experts offer international video meetings for guests, players and journalists

On June 25th one of the major international golfing events, the “BMW International Open”, gets underway at the Golf Club Munich Eichenried. Communications specialists BT and Cisco will be making sure that the players, guests and journalists are provided with world-class communication facilities.

BMW has entrusted BT Germany with the delivery of secure and reliable data and voice communications for this major event that is taking place in Munich for the 21st time. The networked IT service provider will be connecting the central Clubhouse, Fairway Club and Press Centre areas using leading-edge communications technology. Technology provider Cisco will supply the necessary equipment.

For the first time, BT and Cisco will be offering a special service for all those wishing to combine sport and business: using the latest high-end video communications technology, business people can join meetings around the world from Munich without leaving the city. Cisco’s TelePresence solution allows participants to see life-size images of each other and hold real-time discussions. BT and Cisco will provide more than 30 video rooms in major cities around the world such as London, New York, San Francisco, Madrid, Tokyo, Johannesburg, Hamburg, Frankfurt and, of course, Munich. An online portal set up specifically for the BMW International Open 2009 will be available to allow guests, sponsors, players and journalists to make their bookings.

Throughout the entire event, BT will make its international network available to provide Internet access and fixed-network telephony in the central golf club areas. Using IP technology, voice and data traffic will be routed to and from the site via a single, convergent network. BT will use routers, switches, IP telephones and wireless LAN equipment from Cisco for local networking. The entire solution has been scaled to avoid bottlenecks at all times, even when the winner’s final putt is relayed around the world.

Further information for editors
A video clip is available to give you an insight into the quality of the videoconferences that BT can offer based on Cisco TelePresence:
www.bt.com/de/ucv