London Olympics could break the internet

THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT is warning people to prepare for communications breakdowns during the upcoming Olympic Games in London.

The advice is in a PDF that has appeared on the official London 2012 web site and is called "Preparing Your Business For The Games". The document recommends that businesses and people should accept the fact that the internet could slow down and mobile phone networks become flooded during the games.

"It is possible that internet services may be slower during the Games (PDF) or in very severe cases there may be drop outs due to an increased number of people accessing the internet," it warns.

The Government is in talks with ISPs about introducing data caps during the games, which seems unfair for those people that don't care about the Olympics, as well as some other measures that apparently are not finished yet.

"In addition, ISPs may introduce data caps during peak times to try and spread the loading and give a more equal service to their entire customer base. However, this has not yet been confirmed by these ISPs and we hope to have more information nearer to Games time," adds the document.

It adds a similar warning about mobile communications, which are also likely to be under strain, according to the document. Again it warns that communications might be disrupted or slowed down.

"Additional capacity and coverage for mobile phone networks is being put in around Games venues. This will overlay the existing coverage provision and existing customers can expect a 'normal' service during Games-time," it says.

"However, at times of peak demand it is unavoidable that mobile networks may be slowed down by higher volumes of traffic. Voice, email and low-data traffic are unlikely to be affected, but it may be difficult to download larger content such as files or images."