Orange Mobile sets out 5G private SA deployment at Paris 2024 Olympics

As the Paris Olympics and Paralympics looms large on the horizon, athletes’ preparations are now entering the final stages. France-based telco Orange will form the backbone of the Paris events, revealing dedicated mobile offers for French and foreign tourists, as well as athletes and their staff.

Orange is the exclusive operator for the Paris 2024 Games and will be connecting more than 120 venues and the equivalent of 32 world championships at the same time. This covers major stadiums such as the Stade de Marseille and the Stade de France, through major areas such as the Invalides, to airports, railway stations, training centres, as well as iconic and unusual locations such as the Marina de Marseille or Tahiti.

The Paris 2024 Organising Committee has given Orange the largest spectrum ever allocated to an operator in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, through what the company calls an unprecedented and responsible technological deployment.

Orange is assuring its infrastructure will enable no less than “the best” connectivity experience in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games during both the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, giving four billion television viewers and 15 million spectators expected to attend the Games the best connectivity experience.

In addition to consumer offers, Orange has announced that 5G private standalone (SA) networks will be used by broadcasters at several major Olympic and Paralympic Games venues.

In keeping with the recent growing trend of increasing adoption and deployment of embedded subscriber identity module (eSIM) technology,15,000 Olympic and Paralympic athletes will be equipped free of charge with the Orange Holiday eSIM100GB 5G offer, in collaboration with Samsung.

The bundle includes 100 GB of data in France and from the Europe zone; unlimited calls and text messages in mainland France and from the Europe zone to the Europe zone; 2-hour calls and 1,000 text messages from the Europe zone to the rest of the world. Credit will be valid for 28 days and line valid for 6 months.

To optimise distribution of the offers, Orange said it would be is strengthening its points of sale for Orange Holiday SIM and eSIM cards. In addition to Orange boutiques, more than 70 new points of sale will be offering these deals.

In a further boost to connectivity, from 3 June to 8 September, Orange will be opening up its 5G network at no extra cost to existing consumers and business customers with a 4G package and a compatible mobile phone. In addition, until 21 August, L'Equipe Numérique will be offered for 2 months to all Orange customers, with no commitment, then €9.99/month.

Yet perhaps the comms pièce de resistance is bringing private 5G SA to the heart of the games. Deployed as a complement to the current commercial network, private 5G SA will be deployed at several major venues, including the Stade de France, Arena Bercy and Paris La Défense Arena, as well as along the 6km stretch of the Seine for the opening ceremony and at sea at the Marina de Marseille.   

Orange is confident that, due to its personalised management solutions, such technology guarantees broadcasters a premium service with high, stable upload speeds – essential for transporting high-definition images, guaranteed ultra-low latency times for sending images in near-real time, and superior security intrinsic to the technology.

Between 2023 and 2024, Orange has had more than 1,000 technicians involved in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and 28 test events.