Nathan Robbins, VP of strategy and alliances at Syniverse believes that by deploying private 5G, they’ll have dedicated capacity for cameras ensuring higher upload speed and lower latency, all while providing more security for that footage.
“This is going to provide a much better experience for viewers watching at home, as broadcasts will be higher quality and closer to real-time,” he says.
For spectators onsite, Orange is enabling the use of its 5G network, even for customers that only pay for 4G service traditionally. This, according to Robbins, will give all customers a taste of the 5G experience, including higher download speeds.
With that said, 5G roaming will still be “somewhat limited” at the Paris Olympics as no operator has a fully developed 5G Standalone (SA) network with roaming enabled.
“So even subscribers with 5G at home will not have true 5G in Paris. However, they will still benefit from the increased bandwidth available from 5G networks, so we expect download speeds to be the highest they have ever been for a roamer travelling to an Olympic event,” Robbins says.
Robbins adds that 5G SA roaming is expected to be active as we look ahead to the next Olympic event in 2026 – so future visitors can benefit from the “true 5G experience”.
“This will allow spectators to participate in new ways, such as real-time camera angles to compliment in-person viewing, as well as other interactive experiences."
5G, private networks and network slicing will continue to evolve in how they are used at large venues and events such as the Olympics. But there are more use cases to look forward to.
"We are seeing private 5G networks deployed at many major sporting/other events because it gives a dedicated network for broadcasting, staff, attendees, and other critical systems – venues can deploy networks with more than enough capacity for the use cases they are aware of, helping to avoid surprise bottlenecks that might arise on a public network,” he says.
Additionally, Network slicing is also an important new component of the 5G experience at major events like the Olympics. By providing network slicing, Robbins says operators will be able to guarantee the right level of bandwidth and latency for specific use cases.
For example, ensuring that certain “VIP” devices have great bandwidth, including officials or public safety devices.
“From a guest/observer perspective, network slicing would allow people in the venue to use their devices to watch other camera angles or views to enhance their perspective,” he says.
“Network slicing would guarantee that the latency is low so it is a real-time angle. Lastly, network slicing will support new applications like VR or Augmented Reality, which require additional bandwidth and low latency requirements, ensuring the best guest experience.”
