Avoid texting, tweeting, Olympic fans in London urged

Sports fans attending the London Olympics were told by Olympic bosses on Sunday to avoid sending non-urgent text messages and tweets during events because an overloaded network was affecting television coverage. Coverage of the men's road cycling race on Saturday left many viewers in the dark at times, including details on how far back the chasing pack was from the leaders. Commentators were unable to get timing information due to issues surrounding the communications network of the GPS satellite navigation system. It was particularly annoying for the home crowd, who had tuned into to watch what had been billed as one of Britain's best chances of winning an early gold medal with sprint king Mark Cavendish. Many vented their anger on Twitter at the lack of information - and their disappointment at Cavendish's eventual defeat. An International Olympic Committee spokesman said it was a network issue, caused by hundreds of thousands of fans, who had lined the streets of London to cheer the British team on, sending messages. He urged people to spread their use. "Of course, if you want to send something, we are not going to say 'don't, you can't do it', and we would certainly never prevent people," the IOC spokesman said. "It's just, if it's not an urgent, urgent one, please kind of take it easy. "We don't want people to stop engaging in social media but we are asking to see if people can send by other means." The use of mobile phones to access the Internet and take and send photos and video has exploded in recent years, making London 2012 the really first social media Games, but also putting extra pressure on the networks. Mayor of London Boris Johnson warned last year the networks would face a "massive strain", with hundreds of thousands of spectators wanting to share a moment of victory or defeat with friends and family. At the time he said a huge amount of work was being done to make sure there was enough coverage, and that mobile operators and infrastructure companies would "crack it" in time. Enough cable has been laid in the Olympic Park in east London to stretch between London and New York, suggesting that if there were any problems, they would be more likely to occur at venues outside the park. Television coverage is being carried out by the Olympic Broadcasting Services, created by the International Olympic Committee in 2001 to ensure uniform coverage at all Games. The IOC spokesman said it appeared the problem lay with oversubscription on one particular network, and talks had taken place late Saturday and early Sunday in attempt to share more of the data. "We are taking action on a number of things," the spokesman said. "It's mainly a technical issue with the network. It's a network issue, and it is that which we are working on." He conceded though that asking people to not send messages at critical moments, may not have "an awful lot of effect." - Reuters

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more