By Brendan Press, CCO, GBI
November 20th marks the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, a tournament regarded by many as the pinnacle of sport. For four weeks, the eyes of football fans across the globe will be on Qatar, with billions of people expected to tune in to enjoy a festival of national pride, passion, joy and, sometimes, despair as their country’s teams compete to take home the prestigious golden trophy.
In recent years, the way we consume football has evolved far beyond just watching the games. We have greater access to teams and individual players, and whether it’s through following them on social media, expert analysis from pundits or online fantasy leagues, there are several ways for fans to engage with the game.
As we look ahead to this year’s competition, the first to be held in the Middle East and the first to be held outside of its traditional summer slot, it’s important to consider how every aspect of the event will be made accessible to everyone. While the in-game action will undoubtedly make the headlines, one of the hidden heroes of the tournament will be the connectivity that enables that accessibility.
The Benefits of Diversification
Almost all subsea cables and traffic between West Asia, South Asia and East Asia pass through Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. This means all Europe-Asia connectivity is heavily dependent on a single route through Egypt and the Suez Canal. This can create potentially costly bottlenecks, with any outages and high latency impacting individuals, businesses and entire countries. Adding diversification to existing terrestrial routes through different countries provides redundancy, though, meaning users will remain connected in the event of an outage. By diversifying routes through the Middle East region, providers can ensure availability, quality and stability even during times of high demand.
Diversification of cable networks will therefore have a significant role in ensuring the World Cup is accessible by everyone across the world and for the ongoing flow of data between Asia and Europe once the tournament is over. Leveraging cables in Asia and Gulf nations to carry traffic via diverse terrestrial networks to Europe will provide a range of benefits, not least keeping football on our screens during the World Cup.
A significant amount of internet traffic is related to social platforms and streaming services – key means of accessing World Cup-related content. As data-hungry users expect more from their devices every day, the popularity of these services shows no signs of slowing. So it’s little surprise that many global content providers, including Meta, Google, Microsoft and Amazon, are prioritizing diversification and investing in the Middle East. Diversified routes and locally hosted data centers are at the top of their agenda to ensure growing connectivity demands can be met.
Perhaps most importantly, as far as the Middle East is concerned, once the dust has settled on the World Cup, a more diversified cable route to and from the region means it won’t be left out of the ever-evolving global digital economy.
Putting Qatar on the Map
As billions of people from all over the world tune in to watch the tournament unfold, there will undoubtedly be a short-term hike in connectivity demands. The 2018 World Cup in Russia saw a total global reach of 3.87 billion, with an average of 190.5 million live match viewers per game. This year, FIFA President Gianni Infantino expects the number of viewers to reach five billion.
Given the size of the potential audience and a forecasted 67 percent year-on-year growth in the use of data in sports venues, it’s vital that connectivity providers in the Middle East are prepared to provide fully assured services. Indeed, the success of the event depends on it. Providers in the region will need to elevate capabilities, capacity and availability to ensure no goals are missed.
It’s not just audience expectations that matter either. Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy – the organization responsible for the planning and delivery of the event – predicts the “contribution to the economy would be around $20 billion,” equivalent to approximately 11 percent of Qatar’s GDP in 2019. The legacy of the World Cup will have far-reaching effects on the country’s economy. Investments in the mobile and IP-based networks needed to cater for the increase in demand will serve as a catalyst to drive further development in the host nation.
Qatar, for instance, is investing more than $300 billion in modernizing its national infrastructure ahead of this year’s event. According to its National Vision for the future, the aim is that, by 2030, “it would be an advanced society capable of sustaining its development and providing a high standard of living for its people.”
The stakes, then, are extremely high for connectivity providers across the region. The solution lies in diversification.
Global Connectivity Hub
One of the most watched sporting events in the world, the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be Qatar’s opportunity to shine and demonstrate why the Middle East is best placed to connect the world.
But it’s about so much more than a football tournament – it’s also the driver of investment, long-term strategy, development and a strong economy for the country. The Supreme Committee and its connectivity partners are dedicated to delivering an event that will also ensure a long-lasting legacy. Ongoing investment into diversified, robust cable routes and their protection means all internet and mobile users – not just football fans – will enjoy the benefits of low latency, high-capacity connectivity that links operations in Asia and the Middle East to Europe through diversified routes in the region beyond the more commonly used Suez Canal.
Continuing collaboration with industry peers will be instrumental in transforming Qatar into a global connectivity hub, encouraging the development of innovative technologies and boosting local economies. For four weeks toward the end of this year, however, it will be key to delivering an unforgettable World Cup to football fans everywhere.
