Telstra Broadcast Services has worked with Australian broadcast Network Ten to trial 5G Standalone Network Slicing on live coverage of the Flemington Spring Racing carnival.
The event takes place over four days in Melbourne, with up to 5,000 spectators expected.
Telstra’s trial setup was located within the Outside Broadcast precinct at Flemington Racecourse. It used a 5G modem and external antenna connected to a local mobile network cell powered by Ericsson that supports 5G Standalone (SA) with network slicing and radio resource partition.
“Telstra’s Standalone Network Slicing trial showcased our leadership in 5G, in a real-world setting, for the delivery of live television,” said head of APAC, Telstra Broadcast Services, Karen Clark.
“So far, we have operated the trial successfully for Derby Day and The Melbourne Cup, clearly demonstrating the effectiveness of 5G Network Slicing for uplink of live, premium video feeds. We’re excited that this trial has been able to offer our media and broadcast customers the opportunity to produce high bandwidth, low latency television from a congested venue, without the need for traditional wired infrastructure.”
Vice president technology, Paramount Australia and New Zealand, Dean Wadsworth, added: “We are delighted to partner with Telstra on this project as it gives us further insight into the potential for 5G network slicing for live production. The success of the trial we conducted at the Spring Racing Carnival demonstrates that coverage of live events can be enriched with reliable links from roving crews, which can be more cost effective. We look forward to exploring this technology with Telstra in future.”
Following the successful conclusion of this technical trial, Telstra said it will look at opportunities to extend the service to other customers, venues, and media contribution use-cases around the world.