IOC Asks Olympic Spectators To Stop Tweeting At Games After GPS Issues Emerge


Looks like technology is no friend to the world’s greatest sporting event. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has reportedly asked spectators to avoid tweeting, texting and calling others unnecessarily after congestion was blamed for GPS issues during recent cycling events.

The GPS devices in question are used by telecasters to display just how far racers like Mark Cavendish (he does sport, right?) are ahead of the pack. The GPS information that was meant to be beamed to television stations all along the route failed to materialise due to the fact that the network used to transmit the data was congested.

The congestion prevented sportscasters from updating fans about the position of the cylcists, and the problems were only compounded when people who had inadvertently caused the problem reportedly took to Twitter to complain. It’s a never ending cycle! Get it? Moving on.

Reuters reports that the International Olympic Committee are asking people to avoid sending tweets, texts or calls along the route unless it’s particularly urgent.

One would have thought that the world’s greatest sporting event in one of the most connected cities in the world would have thought of that. Perhaps they were too busy thinking about missiles on rooftops. [Reuters]

Image: Anthony DeLorenzo, CC BY-SA 2.0


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

It’s the most popular NBN speed in Australia for a reason. Here are the cheapest plans available.

At Gizmodo, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.