Vodafone UK says it will become the first operator to dedicate a slice of its public standalone (SA) 5G network to broadcast a major event in that country.
The telecom giant is working in partnership with TV company ITN on its coverage of the Coronation of King Charles III.
The operator stated it will work with ITN to broadcast the Coronation on 6 May, creating a slice on its SA network following work done at Coventry University’s media lab, which has been focused on exploring new use cases for 5G.
Vodafone stated the move will enable “the swift and secure transfer” of the live coronation broadcast from Westminster, London to the broadcaster’s newsroom in another part of the city so it can be shared across the nation and worldwide.
For the broadcasting industry, Vodafone explained the use of SA 5G had two distinct benefits. First, a minimum upload speed threshold can be set to guarantee “digitally dense content is uploaded quickly and reliably for live streaming”.
Second, it removes the risk of network congestion impacting performance of the broadcast, particularly useful for mass events and live content contribution in isolated locations.
Vodafone claimed this was another first for its SA 5G offering, after it became the first operator in the UK to open the network for public use in January when select consumers were able to trial its capabilities.
Nick Gliddon, Vodafone UK business director, said innovation is at the heart of the company and had been central to the country’s adoption of digital technology.
He continued to explain the other potentials for SA 5G, including AI, autonomous vehicles, holographic calls and IoT.
