Colt Network-as-a-Service enables broadcast of Berlinale opening in seven German cities

Frankfurt/Berlin,14.02.2025 - The 75^th Berlin International Film Festival shows the opening gala of the Berlinale 2025 in a live broadcast for the first time in seven other German cities. Colt Technology Services – Digital Cinema Partner of the Berlinale for over 15 years – provides the necessary internet access for the data transmission with the innovative IP service “DIA – Dedicated Internet Access” based on a Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) connection.

In cinemas in Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Leipzig, Munich and Stuttgart, as well as in Berlin, film enthusiasts can watch the opening gala, hosted international jury, and see who wins the Honorary Golden Bear in a live broadcast. A screening of the opening film “The Light”, directed by Tom Tykwer, marks the occasion and welcomes cinema-goers to settle in and enjoy a weeks’ worth of spectacular cinema.

The IT team at Berlinale are utilising the intuitive user interface of our On Demand portal, which allows companies to control and adjust their required bandwidth in real time. Capacity can be dialed up and reduced when needed – perfect for an event that experiences huge spikes of data requirements in short bursts of time.

“The Berlinale is constantly evolving and so are its technological requirements, so we are very happy to rely on Colt’s expertise for over 15 years,” explains Ove Sander, Technical Director Digital Cinema of the Berlinale.

“Network-as-a-Service is the proper technology for the Berlinale to present itself live to film fans in cinemas outside of Berlin and thus further develop the festival. For us, this is an excellent example of the 'extraordinary connections' that we create with our network. This new major step for the Berlinale is proof of how the common goal of a high-quality customer experience and mutual trust in the partner's know-how and experience can be translated into an unforgettable experience. We are proud of having been able to do this with Berlinale time and time again for so many years,” says Roxana Dobrota, Country Manager of Colt Germany.

Colt’s Network-as-a-Service offering at the Berlinale includes:

• Providing a fiber optic network with around 200 fiber kilometers for the festival.

• Two 10 Gbit/s lines connect the Colt network node with the Berlinale Film Office at Potsdamer Platz.

• Connecting the festival's main venues via a star-shaped network of 10 Gbit/s and 1 Gbit/s lines to the network node.

• Transmitting a petabyte of data over the course of the event

• Converting all films, regardless of format, into a standardised digital format to be stored on the Berlinale servers.  

• Allowing film studios to upload their work directly to the Berlinale servers via a 10-gigabit Internet connection. This saves valuable time too, only takes 20 minutes for a package of film data to travel from Hollywood to Berlin.