
When the Paris 2024 Olympics ended, thousands of high-tech Wi-Fi terminals and switches could have been discarded.
But, fortunately, they weren't.

Instead, Orange and La Poste turned them into something extraordinary: upgraded connectivity for post offices and innovation hubs, like the Maison de l’Innovation in Nantes, which will house over 800 IT professionals working on future technologies.
Here’s how Orange and La Poste achieved this:
🏅 It starts with a vision.
The Paris 2024 Olympics prioritized reducing their carbon footprint—and succeeded. The 2024 Summer Games achieved a more than 50% smaller carbon footprint compared to the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Summer Games. Aligning with this vision, Orange repurposed nearly 90% of the Wi-Fi terminals and 78% of the switches from Olympic venues to extend their usefulness.
🏅 Recognize the need.
La Poste needed to modernize its post offices to provide better connectivity and bridge the digital divide. Meanwhile, Orange faced the prospect of surplus equipment after the Olympics. Both organizations share a passion for sustainability.
The outcome? A perfect post-Olympics partnership.
This is innovation—rethinking what’s already there.
Taking a page from this Olympic playbook, what resources in your business could be reimagined (with tech) to deliver greater value?
Why do I Write these “Did You Know” posts?
The challenges in our world often overshadow stories of hope and ingenuity. That’s why I write these stories: to spotlight innovations that highlight a simple fact—solutions don’t always require starting from scratch.
Often, it’s about reimagining what already exists and combining it with bold thinking and a dollop of technology to create a fresh solution.
With AI at our fingertips, innovation has never been more accessible. It just requires creative thinking. Why wait?
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