INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
audience of billions around the globe.But off the pitch, something else just as dramatic is happening: we are seeing in real time how sports
Most people will watch the World Cup from afar on television, and increasingly on mobile devices with in-game highlights and full live
in the same way they do at home.These trends have driven network infrastructure improvements at sporting venues and 5G is the latest
evolution of this, enabling a whole host of new applications.Current state of playThe US has traditionally been the world leader in stadium
technology, building high-capacity Wi-Fi networks and working with operators on Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) so visitors can use their
In the UK, EE uses Wembley as a launchpad for its latest network innovations.While few fans would not attend a World Cup match because of
poor connectivity, there is a concern that some would for a lower-profile sporting event
Fans like to post videos and images to social media, read what other supporters are saying on Twitter, and watch highlights during the
game.At the World Cup, video assisted referees (VAR) have been used for the first time (and the results are grabbing more headlines than the
also has the ability to generate new revenue for stadium operators by allowing them to collect more information on visitors, offer
personalised in-seat ordering, and to gain location data.Better connectivity is also key to improving the out of stadium experience
The 2017 UEFA Champions League Final between Real Madrid and Juventus was shown live in 360-degree Virtual Reality (VR), while highlights
were again made available for the 2018 final
for its 4K HDR technology, which reduces the amount of data needed to deliver an Ultra High Definition (UHD) stream to a mobile device.How
will 5G change this5G will enhance this even further
The first commercial networks are set to arrive in 2019 (2020 Europe), offering faster speeds, low latency and higher capacity
devices - will become mainstream.5G is likely to arrive in two phases
The first will work in conjunction with existing 4G networks using new radio technologies, while the second will herald the arrival of
This means better mobile broadband and smartphones will come first, before the truly transformational applications, such as Industrial IoT
and connected car services, become a reality in the 2020s.But already operators around the world are already investigating how 5G will
transform the sports viewing experience for fans in and outside the stadium.5G trials for sports fansEarlier this year KDDI and Samsung held
a 5G trial at the Okinawa Cellular Stadium in Japan
transmitted a live 4K feed to tablets located in the stands.Closer to home, O2 will turn the O2 Arena into a 5G testbed using the 3.4GHz
spectrum it won at auction in February
O2 will see how the technology behaves in live conditions and how applications like VR, Augmented Reality (AR) and live streaming will work
on the new architecture.This means spectators to tennis, darts, basketball, boxing and wrestling events will be among the first to
long-term technology agreement with the international Olympic Committee (IOC), powering live or on-demand coverage of 30 events in Virtual
and low latency made it a more ideal solution.In total, 22 5G links at 10 sites delivered 3,800TB of network capacity across the 17 days of
and core network technologies across its infrastructure
This will also boost 2G, 3G and 4G coverage at key sites like stadiums, train stations and airports, but will also enable dedicated 5G demo
zones during the tournament.Meanwhile, MegaFon and Huawei have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to trial 5G at Russia 2018 as well
MegaFon is the official communications infrastructure partner for the event and will cover all 11 host stadiums as well as training camps,
hotels and other facilities, albeit not with 5G
So our footballers will just have to make do when Tweeting or posting on Instagram.The next major global sporting event will be the summer
Olympic games in Tokyo in 2020 by which point commercial networks will be live across the globe
VR coverage and 8K video are but some of the technical innovations expected at Tokyo 2020 and Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo has already
announced its intention to have a live 5G network in time for the event.But we will have to wait until Qatar 2022 for the first truly
5G-enabled World Cup, by which point there will be close to three quarters of a billion 5G connections, according to figures from CCS
insight.5G has the potential to be a truly transformative technology, and the sporting world is no exception.TheIndianSubcontinent's World
