So Cisco has become Official Network Infrastructure Supporter for the London 2012 Olympics, in a tier two deal which commences with immediate effect, taking over the contract from Nortel.
It doesn’t come as a huge surprise, as in January this year Nortel filed for bankruptcy protection in both the US and Canada, and shortly after put its UK business into administration to boot.
Based in Toronto and still ranked as the biggest maker of telephone equipment in North America, Nortel said the moves were designed to give it breathing space to deal with the deteriorated environment in which it finds itself.
In a statement on Friday, the London 2012 Organising Committee (Locog) said it had ended its contract with the infrastructure supplier “on good terms”.
“Technology for the Games is a huge undertaking with a fixed deadline, relying on finalising the design and building of systems now,” Locog’s statement read. “In order to deliver ‘the most connected Games possible’, Locog felt it was vital to work with a single business to cover the entire network infrastructure. As a result, Locog and Nortel amicably decided to bring the current agreement to an end.”
Phil Smith, CEO, Cisco UK and Ireland said: “We are delighted to be working with LOCOG to provide the network infrastructure for London 2012. In the UK, Cisco enables businesses, public services and ultimately communities to enhance the way they operate. We will work hard to deliver the infrastructure for London 2012, which promises to be the most connected Games ever.”
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