Jul, 2001 : Level 3 and BT Deliver Live Wimbledon Broadcast

📅 July 5, 2001 - Level 3 Communications, Inc. (level3.com) announced today that BT Broadcast Services (broadcast.bt.com), a subsidiary of BT, is using transatlantic capacity purchased on Level 3's global fiber-optic network in order to transmit live television signals from The Championships at Wimbledon in London to NBC's broadcast facilities in New York.

``We are pleased to be working with BT Broadcast Services to deliver television signals from Wimbledon to NBC,'' said Bob Yates, president of Level 3's operations in Europe. ``The Championships at Wimbledon are one of the premier sporting events in the world. This agreement is further testament to both the reliability and cost efficiency of Level 3's fiber-optic network. We look forward to working with BT on the broadcast of similar events in the future.''
BT Broadcast Services is using Level 3's (3)Link Private Line International service. With (3)Link Private Line, customers purchase dedicated amounts of bandwidth connecting fixed locations while bypassing the public switched telephone network. The service is typically purchased by customers that need to transmit large amounts of data, video or voice quickly and efficiently.
BT Broadcast Services is routing live television signals from the tennis tournament to Level 3's London data center. Level 3 is then transporting those signals across the Atlantic using redundant circuits on its high-speed submarine cable system.
In New York, BT Broadcast Services is delivering the signals to NBC for broadcast to millions of viewers across the United States. The tournament runs through Sunday, July 8.
``We are happy with the service that Level 3 has provided. It has added to our coverage of the event,'' said Paul Claydon, Head of Occasional Services at BT Broadcast Services. ``I see this facility being of considerable value in the future as an additional part of our service.''