Cover Story
Gimme 5 ( G )
Cover Story
2024 should be the year of multiple 5G deployments . What does this mean for TV providers ? Any device , anywhere has been the mantra , but how do the metrics actually look for consumption – drama , sports , news , games ? Colin Mann investigates .
Some observers have suggested that 5G is a solution in search of a problem . What ’ s the evidence that more capacity and greater speed is needed , and where ?
Christophe Burdinat , director of technology & standards , research & innovation , ATEME , notes that 5G comprises a broad set of solutions for the very diversified scenarios defined in snappily titled : IMT-2020 : Enhanced Mobile Broadband ( eMBB ), Massive Machine Type Communication ( mMTC ), Ultra-reliable low latency communication ( URLLC ). “ Each scenario yields stringent requirements on radio transmission performances which could not been reached
8 EUROMEDIA without 5G .” According to Burdinat two key aspects are beneficial to traditional streaming :
• The larger capacity of 5G , addressing the exponentially growing demand . For instance , the extending deployments of Fixed Wireless Access ( FWA , where home broadband connectivity is achieved with a mobile network ) could not be possible without it .
• The advanced management for the Quality of Service ( QoS ), tailored by application requirements , on-demand and in real time , by which the quality offered to the end-user can be guaranteed . “ But there are also new use cases around advanced / new media enabled : Augmented Reality ( AR ) and Virtual Reality ( VR ), Gaming . For that the leap of 5G in terms of latency is instrumental , beyond the higher demand in bandwidth .” “ Finally , compared to 4G , 5G is now technology suitable for video and audio production . So far , production equipment was using bespoke technologies . Content production and contribution could leverage 5G as a highly reliable wireless technology . Most production elements can now enjoy economies of scale with 5G NR , whilst not compromising on latency , QoS and bandwidth . This explains the high interest of the broadcast industry in this technology ,” he adds . TRAFFIC . “ While traffic from television streaming on mobile networks is still very small compared to fixed-line networks , there has been an increase in viewers using 4G- and 5G-connected devices , especially during live
“ Stringent requirements on radio transmission performances could not been reached without 5G .” - Christophe Burdinat , ATEME sports broadcasts ,” notes Yann Begassat , business development director at Broadpeak . “ In addition , fixed wireless access is exploding in markets like the US and India , which is creating video streaming peaks much higher than those of regular smartphone users . As a result of these trends , increasing the capacity in 5G networks – or using 5G capacity more efficiently – is vital to absorbing the increased traffic .”
“ The greater bandwidth provided by both private and public 5G networks allows for higher picture quality , including in 4K and HDR , and more camera angles that bring viewers closer to the action ,” advises Mark Horchler , marketing director , products and solutions at Haivision . “ When it comes to speed , our Haivision Pro460 mobile video transmitters reduce end-to-end latency , from camera to production , to as low as 80 milliseconds allowing broadcasters to use private 5G networks instead of wireless RF when covering live events .”
“ Coming at this from the content contribution side of the equation , no , 5G isn ’ t a solution in search of a problem , rather it helps power new opportunities for content creators , especially around major sporting and news events ,” asserts Bart Meeus , senior sports manager EMEA , LiveU . “ Our IP-Video Ecosystem is fully 5G native and customers have been taking advantage for some time now across a whole range of projects . When it comes to major sporting events , there ’ s always been huge network congestion for obvious reasons . As an industry , we ’ re still only at the beginning of what ’ s possible with 5G in terms of standalone 5G networks , network slicing , private 5G and the potential these hold for live content creation across sport , and that potential is huge .” 3GPP . “ The 3rd Generation Partnership Project ( 3GPP ) standards for 5G not only