(5 May 2006 2:00 pm)

MUMBAI: One of football's global body Fifa's partners Avaya is building the converged communication network for the event in Germany.

Avaya has been rigorously testing the network's configuration, reliability and security. The tests are a key part of the process to ensure the network is available 99.99 per cent of the time.

The converged network -- combining voice and data on the same infrastructure -- will be used by teams, referees, journalists plus Fifa and organising committee officials for a variety of tasks.

These will include accreditation, reporting results, logistics and transportation. Avaya says that to test the network without finding any major issues is excellent, especially considering the complexity of the project.

In addition to conducting more than 400 tests at the company's Fifa World Cup lab in Frankfurt, Avaya commissioned Netconsult Online Limited, an independent company specialising in quality control and assurance, to validate network testing results.

Exhaustive testing of failover scenarios, back-up power, firmware and software compatibility, and the resiliency of the various IP applications was conducted. Following the independent validation, Fifa also just completed its own integration testing in which it examined performance of applications across the network.

The Fifa integration testing was again successful. All the components of the network have been extensively tested, labeled and made ready for deployment to various stadia and other venues for the event so the excitement can commence with the kick-off of the opening match in less than 50 days.

The stage is now set for installation of the network in the 12 Cup stadia beginning with Munich and Berlin. The IT Command Center for the entire network is currently up and running in Munich and the accreditations centers will be open over the next weeks, beginning with Berlin.

Avaya's Fifa World Cup technical programme MD Doug Gardner says, "Logistics and transportation are among the many critical functions that rely on our converged communications network. It is vital to extensively test the network and all the individual devices to be deployed to avoid delays for the thousands of people involved in producing this event, the 80,000 spectators at each game and to get teams to the stadia on time and match statistics to broadcasters promptly."