Coverage of the 2017 Tour de France: a technological challenge that Orange meets on a daily basis

Watch the clip explaining how Orange connects the Tour de France (available in French only)

Orange brings enhanced connectivity to the Tour de France 2017

For over 20 years, Orange has brought the most advanced technology to the competition. Once again, Orange will be deploying tailored solutions to ensure the race and the media broadcast both run smoothly.
To meet the challenge, forty technicians and experts will work night and day throughout the competition to transport, set up, switch on and maintain the infrastructure needed.

Orange and the Tour de France 2017 in figures

• 12 tonnes of equipment
• 21 stages covered by 4G
• 26 relay vehicles to reinforce the mobile network coverage
• 40 technicians in the field + 650 technicians in the back office
• 100 km of optical fibre cables to the finish line
• 500 temporary phone lines
• More than 6,000 hours of broadcasting in nearly 200 countries around the world
• 1.4 million internet connections from the race

This year, new features have been deployed

• 13 reinforced mobile facilities to provide 100% 4G coverage in the French towns where each of the 21 stages of the Tour de France takes place.
• 1 permanent 4G antenna installed at Planche des Belles Filles (between Haute-Saône and the Territoire de Belfort).
• Accelerated 3G/4G coverage in 250 municipalities located within 10km of the course.
• 8 Wi-Fi networks deployed in the village, with a dozen antennas and a speed equivalent to 20 MB/s.
• 3 optical fibre cables installed for the camera in the nave of the Grand-Palais in Paris
• 24-hour video surveillance in the village: 4-6 cameras, fibre cable from the camera to the PC, joysticks, image stills, instantaneous storage and PC security handled by Orange.
• For the first time, experimental simultaneous interpreting into English in the press room.

New challenges

• Marseille stage: the departure and arrival of this time trial within the famous Orange Velodrome. A first for the Tour de France since 1978. For one day, the Orange Velodrome is to be used for its original purpose.
• A spectacular finish at the foot of the ramparts of Longwy; in the mountain peaks, at an altitude of 1600 metres in Peyragudes, in the Pyrenees; and at over 2000 metres in Izoard, in the Alps. In Peyragudes: 14km of optical fibre laid 2 years earlier than planned.

All the news about the Tour de France on your PC, mobile and tablet

On the Orange website http://tourdefrance.sports.orange.fr/, cycling enthusiasts can experience each of the stages of the Tour de France live: the 2017 route, live video coverage of the Tour with the official broadcaster francetvsport, the best videos of the event (race summaries, stage analyses, daily landscapes, etc.), all stages with live commentary, up-to-date rankings of each competitor, daily photo slideshows, etc.
Orange, in association with Amaury Sport Organisation, developed the official Tour de France 2016 mobile app so you can enjoy the best of the Tour de France on your smartphone or tablet (iOS and Android).
Cycling fans can get all the information on the Tour in real-time and follow the race on an enhanced and interactive map showing the distance between cyclists and their rankings. A notification system is also available to keep up to date on all the latest news.

To know more about Orange and sport: press kit (available in French only)