Deutsche Telekom teamed with Nokia to demonstrate how the ultra-high data rates promised by 5G technology can boost the viewing experience at live sports events.
The operator utilised Nokia’s 5G-ready hardware to conduct a series of demonstrations at the International Stadium Festival, a one-day athletics event held at the Berlin Olympia stadium over the weekend. Deutsche Telekom said that the Nokia equipment delivered maximum data rates of 2.3 Gbps, and that the trials form part of a German Senate department for economics, technology and research project named 5G Test Field Berlin.
One of the key technologies demonstrated was the delivery of ultra high-definition video from a 360 degree camera to virtual reality glasses over a 5G system -- a trial Deutsche Telekom said was a world first. The operator explained that the technology enables fans to view the action on the field from several different vantage points utilising live streams from the cameras.
The partners also utilised the 5G equipment to deliver multiple full HD live streams from professional TV cameras that were transmitted in parallel, and the transmission of two simultaneous 360-degree streams using Nokia’s Ozo camera.
Deutsche Telekom CTO Bruno Jacobfeuerborn said the demonstrations highlight how 5G will help to “usher in an exciting new chapter for virtual reality, augmented reality, and other future digital entertainment services.” The next-generation technology promises to significantly improve user experience “by delivering faster, higher quality video and virtual reality content,” he noted.
Markus Borchert, SVP of market Europe at Nokia, said the trials are a crucial step in the development of 5G technology, and highlight how “interactive and direct the stadium experience will be in just a few years from now.”
The demonstration is not just essential for industry partners like Deutsche Telekom and Nokia, according to Cornelia Yzer, Berlin’s senator for economics, technology and research. She argued that developing 5G technology “together with strong partners from the world of business like Telekom and Nokia, academia and science” will be a key step to delivering the full benefits the technology offers to “Berlin’s citizens and people globally”.
For more:
- see this Deutsche Telekom announcement
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