A YORK-based telecom specialist who enjoyed Olympic and Paralympic success is now planning for two major fixtures next year.

Cellhire provided 12,000 mobile data connections to global media organisations, athletes and attendees at the Covid-19-delayed 2020 Olympics and the Paralympics in Japan.

The company is now preparing to provide the same service at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in China and 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar where Cellhire has established relationships with network providers China Unicom and Ooredoo.

Group chief operating officer Tim Taylor said: “Cellhire had a great Olympics and Paralympics where Team GB, organisers, attendees and global media companies used Cellhire-supplied connections, phones and mobile hotspots."

The media organisations included public and commercial television, radio and online-streaming broadcasters, as well as print and online newspapers.

They utilised large data bundles on Cellhire SIM cards, other equipment and other value-added telecoms services to broadcast and report in real-time.

“Our users benefited from reliable, secure and affordable data bundles, enabling them to communicate not only in Japan, but importantly, with family and friends in their home countries,” added Tim.

“To assist the IOC and organising committee, Cellhire supplied smartphones pre-loaded with the required COVID-19 tracking apps. We also had an on-ground support team based near the athlete’s village and broadcast centre in central Tokyo, providing a perfect platform to support our Olympic clients.”

Looking ahead, Tim said: “Cellhire is the preferred supplier for mobile data connectivity for clients involved in very large events including the Olympic, Paralympic and Winter Olympic Games, UEFA Euro Finals, FIFA World Cup, the Tour de France and Cannes Film Festival.

“We have an excellent track record in the global sports and entertainment fields for providing data connections and telecom solutions through the close relationship we have with network providers around the world.

“In total, we have provided many tens of thousands of connections at major events, allowing the media to have reliable and secure data communications to live-broadcast to their audiences”, Taylor adds.

Established in 1987, Cellhire has offices in the UK, USA, France, Germany and Japan.