The Chilean Sub-secretariat of Telecommunications (Subtel) began work with the Organising Committee to implement fibre optic and 5G coverage across the venues for the Games, with journalists, volunteers, broadcasters and athletes among those in line to benefit from the high-speed connectivity.

Felipe De Pablo, chief executive of the Santiago 2023 Organising Committee, claimed that the move was an important step towards delivering a "historic Games" as he revealed the update at the Central Coliseum of the main Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos.

"The audience that attends the event for example, will be able to share quality images and videos simultaneously to other attendees, something that in fact, could not be done in this coliseum due to data saturation," he said.

"This is the reason we highlight this huge tech progress that we are implementing with Subtel."

Chile's Acting Sports Minister Andrés Otero said the 5G coverage would allow athletes from across the continent to connect with their families back home seamlessly.

"Behind every athlete there is always a family that is, and has been an important pillar in their career development," Otero commented.

"Many times the family members cannot travel with the athletes to their competitions and I am sure that this technology will help each athlete to feel closer to their family, because the support from the people we love is crucial."

Sub-secretary of telecommunications Francisco Moreno added that it would assist with the logistics of the event.

"This important digital deployment will allow us to work in stadium security development, implement tech such as big data and virtual reality, as well as other innovations that without a doubt will offer important tools for the sports practice and their followers."

The 2023 Pan American Games are scheduled to be held in Santiago from October 20 to November 5, with the 2023 Parapan American Games set to follow from November 17 to 26.

It will be the first time that Chile has held the multi-sport event.