While the Blackcaps and South Africa exert themselves at the Bay Oval, it is a small Tauranga internet provider who's working just as hard to help broadcast the action across the globe.

Tauranga internet service provider Enternet Online Ltd (EOL) is this week providing the vital broadcast links for national and international media, beating out much larger national players on the telecommunication grid.

EOL senior network engineer George Armitage with the commentary link installed at the Bay Oval. Photo: Tracy Hardy.

Reels of cable and technology are nestled in place across the Mount Maunganui venue, connecting print, TV and radio broadcasters to the web, all effectively managed by the local company's mobile unit.

EOL managing director Terry Coles says what started three years ago with the grounding of the Rena has since blossomed into an extra component to the company.

'We had to put in broadcast phone links, in three sites, for about 300 people in 48 hours,” says Terry. 'We had never done anything like that and since then we have had all this mobile kit.”

The provider now has a mobile kit and team who, at a moment's notice, can respond to a disaster or sporting event.

The $50,000 equipment allows the EOL team to put high links in 'virtually overnight”, providing high-speed internet through wireless, but at the equivalent speed of fibre.

This includes providing wireless to more than 13,000 spectators and teams at this year's AIMS Games.

Terry says he was approached by Bay of Plenty Cricket Trust months ago to be the service provider, without the big incumbents, Spark or Vodafone, getting a look in.

'We just used our event kit and team to go in [to the Bay Oval] and put wireless and fibre in.” he says.

'We aren't using the fibre as it's just a backup, but as far as I know, all of the media are broadcasting across our links.

He admits AIMS Games might be bigger in terms of spectator wi-fi traffic, but on a commercial and international scale, this takes the cake.

'AIMS is probably bigger because we issued 13,000 wi-fi passes to the sporting people and support teams.

'This was more aimed at providing the commercial rather than spectator links. We wouldn't have done anything international like this before.”

Bay of Plenty Cricket Trust general manager Kelvin Jones says it with so much resting on a reliable internet connection to the masses of media, in the end it was a 'no brainer” on choosing an internet provider.

A provider for the cricket trust in recent years, EOL also have a number of free wi-fi sites around the park, strengthening its proven track record, adds Kelvin.

He says: 'Nowadays, for an event like this you need 100 per cent reliable internet and we knew we could count on EOL to deliver it for us. Sometimes you just can't quite get that level of service from a big corporate.”

'They [EOL] are flexible, they can move fast and look at all the options rather than being a bit more fixed in what they can provide.”