Views
4 years ago

5G Perspective

  • Text
  • Brochure
  • Connectivity
  • Markets
  • Capacity
  • Enable
  • Download
  • Latency
  • Speeds
  • Devices
  • Networks
  • Mobile

“The camera that is

“The camera that is there can also come in on the team bus,” Hindhaugh said. “It can be in the dressing rooms before kickoff and then the operator just comes out and stands in his position. And what that does is it starts driving opportunity and you move away from ‘this is what we’re allowed to do’ or ‘this is what we can do’ to: ‘What is it our audiences want? How do we take them closer to the action? How do we give them the sort of stuff they would get when they’re at the ground?’ That’s what all of this enables and it’s really exciting.” Theoretically, this could allow for greater flexibility in where live shots are set-up. For one thing, this would see games covered with fewer cameras, and operators sent between different positions – with the example Hindhaugh gives being that a director might want to get a closer look at a manager’s behaviour during a tense passage of play. Yet this editorial dexterity may not lead to entirely new or unexpected camera angles being sought. “It’s really interesting,” said Hindhaugh. “When we launched 4K, we launched it as a single production workflow. We got it in our heads that because you could shoot wider and cut slower, we could do something different with 4K. Our audiences hated it, because there is a certain way you watch football.” With Wembley Stadium the setting for the initial trials, and the National League and Women’s Super League identified as early use cases, much of the conversation around 5G production has so far centred on soccer. Still, Hindhaugh expects other sports to come into the picture. “You’ve got to look at what the reason was for wanting to explore this, and one of those was about the frustrations at some grounds where you’ve got no connectivity and how you can do it,” he said. “But we’ve done some remote production on hockey and I can see hockey being perfect. I can see rugby being perfect, actually.” When and how will 5G production be rolled out? Full-scale implementation of 5G production will follow the launch of consumer networks in 2019, though Stagg expects BT Sport will pursue further trials with test equipment before then. A proliferation of 5G-enabled equipment will offer more flexibility but an essential next step for broadcasters will be the “slicing” of networks to allow dedicated space for commercial use, away from the main network traffic. “There’s a lot of work to do there,” he noted, “and we need to be able to eventually book it like booking bandwidth for satellite.” Piracy concerns, Stagg believes, will be no greater than on fibre signals and greater security may be possible. For Hindhaugh, it is vital that 5G fits into BT Sport’s existing “editorial strategy”. “There’s a real risk in our industry that you do things because you think they’re sexy or funny or they’re going to wow people – but you do it for the wrong reason or in the wrong way,” he said. “Ever since launch, it’s always been very, very simple: take our audience to the heart of sport.” That being said, with 5G potentially representing a new broadcast standard, industry-wide consultation will also be significant. “We know the broadcasters, we’ve worked with them,” said Stagg. “We don’t want to do this on our own. We don’t want fragmentation in the industry and I’ve been talking about the fact that we’re a media and entertainment vertical. Let’s come together and start to look at what the requirements are, because we could build it for ourselves, but if we’re going to be bespoke and then somebody else builds it, you just don’t get the value in all of this convergence and stuff like that.” Stagg expects 5G to begin superseding satellite carriage in the UK over a relatively short period once it enters wider use. “There’ll be mixing and stuff like that but maybe five years,” he said. “You’d certainly not be investing in satellite trucks in five years.” The consequences of all of this added capacity on BT Sport’s offer to its relationship with its partners, meanwhile, are nuanced. “It’s a really important question and there’s two answers,” said Hindhaugh when asked how 5G would affect BT Sport’s conversations with rights holders. “Because there is the one argument that, actually, showing less games is good for the league because we should all want people to go to games and we all want people to come and support their teams. And, you know, some leagues are more controlling than others – understandably, actually; sometimes less is better. “I think it’s more about what we can give the clubs, if we are able to give them live goals and footage and we’re able to give them behind-the-scenes coverage, and we’re able very quickly to to send them match edits. “From a sports broadcast perspective, the value is in that live game. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. But for the clubs, for their fans, I think that’s where a real partnership can start coming in.” PAGE 30

THE ROLE OF DATA SELECT IN 5G IMPLEMENTATION The potential for implementing 5G technology across many markets is huge. We are committed to maintaining our role as a leading mobile technology distributor by working with our resellers to implement the latest in 5G technology and keep them informed as new value-added solutions become available. As this publication demonstrates, many brands will be developing applications that combine the benefits of 5G, AI, AR and VR. With our 20 years’ experience in the mobile market, we are in a unique position to rapidly evaluate the new applications as they enter the marketplace and tailor them to work in the various consumer, gaming, business, medical services, transportation, agricultural, entertainment and security markets. We expect that competition will be fierce in the marketplace as firms try to differentiate themselves in their respective markets, and we will be there to ensure that our resellers have the technology needed to win that battle. We have initially identified some markets that will benefit greatly from adapting 5G technology. This is by no means an exhaustive list and this will continue to grow. We can help our customers crystallise their strategy in competing in these markets, saving them valuable time and resources since they will not have to conduct the analysis of the markets on their own. Our ‘5 Stages’ approach to mobile solutions provides the guidance and support that resellers require, this covers: Training - This includes both sales and technical focused webinars and dedicated classroom sessions. Testing - Seeding and licensing to cover proof of concept, field visits and recommendation services. Ordering - Compatible hardware and related licencing. Deployment - Including staging, configuration and other managed services. Support - Pre and post solutions sales. We know the technology and keep track of it as it changes. We will continue to provide our customers with recommendations on how to incorporate the latest advances and maintain their competitive advantage in the marketplace. The 5G revolution is just beginning, and we are here to make sure that it results in success for you. For more information on 5G and Mobile Solutions contact your Account Manager or call 08702 420 420 PAGE 31