Cabinet Office confident broadband networks will cope with Olympics

The government has expressed confidence that the UK's broadband infrastructure will be able to cope with the expected surge in demand for data during the Olympic Games.

Businesses had previously been warned by the Cabinet Office to prepare for London 2012, with the department pointing out that some internet service providers could be hit by outages or introduce usage limits throughout the international sporting event.

However, a spokesman has now said efforts to improve broadband networks mean the potential strain on connections has eased, insisting the situation has "moved on considerably" since the Cabinet Office's advice was first published.

"We do not now believe there is likely to be any impact on the UK internet infrastructure during the Olympic Games," he explained.

Despite this, the spokesman warned that firms may still need to take measures to prevent a substantial proportion of employees from streaming the action live while in the office.

"It could significantly slow a company's network speed if there is not enough network capacity available," he said.

In February, Metronet warned that the Games have the potential to "significantly change" the profile of business internet usage due to an increase in the use of applications such as BBC iPlayer.