When Katie Taylor stepped into the ring this afternoon for the women’s lightweight semi-final at the London 2012 Olympic Games, network activity saw a significant spike as Irish fans logged on to follow the match.
Taylor outboxed Tajikistan’s Mavzuna Chorieva in all four rounds with a final score of 17-9 in Ireland’s favour.
A massive Irish following filled the ExCeL arena to watch the bout, but those of us at home – and many at work – turned to the internet for live updates of the event.
Airfibre, an IP network provider servicing customers in Ireland and the UK, reports that network activity increased by 800pc during the fight, decreasing by 50pc immediately after the result was announced and falling back to normal service levels by the time Taylor exited the arena.
“Pleased to say the Airfibre network stood up to the pressure and we congratulate Katie on doing the same!” said Airfibre’s chairman and CEO, John Earley.
The same can’t be said for RTÉ’s online player, however, which many users reported to be inaccessible during the match-up, much to online viewers’ annoyance. Ireland’s national broadcaster would be prudent to improve its online resources by tomorrow at 4.45, when Taylor faces Russia’s Sofya Ochigava in the final.
Network image via Shutterstock
