The Anatomy of Olympic Games: a Mobile Traffic Demand Perspective

Abstract

Summer Olympic Games are one of the major sports and social events worldwide, attracting global media attention, thousands of athletes, and large crowds to the hosting country. As such, the Olympics also represent a moment of severe strain for local infrastructures, including the telecommunication one. Yet, very little is known about how this large event affects demands for telco services. In this paper, we explore how the 2024 Summer Olympics hosted by Paris, France conditioned local mobile data traffic volumes and dynamics. We do so from a privileged vantage point by analyzing measurements collected in Orange’s production network, largest mobile operator in the country and the official communications partner to the event organization. Our results shed light on a variety of aspects, including how Olympic Games affect consumption of mobile services, the burden that the event imposes on the local mobile network infrastructure, and how operators prepare for it.