T-Systems built an exclusive high-speed contribution network for ARD and ZDF’s 2006 FIFA World Cup coverage. It connected the International Broadcast Center in Munich with broadcaster sites in Cologne and Mainz and the studio at Berlin’s Sony Center. The project covered design, construction, commissioning, handover and measures for high operational reliability throughout the event.
The digital backbone linked Munich, Cologne, Berlin and Mainz at 2.5 Gbit/s in a ring topology. It used fibre with wavelength-division multiplexing and separate backup routes, minimising geographical overlap between primary and secondary paths. The signal paths used no active network nodes, while T-Systems provided continuous monitoring and management.
The transport layer could provision 41 separately routed primary and backup circuits at bandwidths up to 270 Mbit/s, covering broadcast requirements from 2 Mbit/s to 270 Mbit/s.
Alongside conventional television signals, the network carried 16:9 pictures with associated audio channels and AES/EBU audio interfaces, with multichannel audio transport also planned. A Fast Ethernet network connected all endpoints for additional communication services.
