A private pop-up 5G network designed by Scottish engineers to broadcast live coverage of the coronation of King Charles III and the Queen around the world has won two prestigious industry awards.
This potentially groundbreaking technology reduces reliance on fixed wired connections between camera crews and external broadcast vehicles and the team included engineers from the University of Strathclyde’s Software Defined Radio team (StrathSDR) and spin-out company Neutral Wireless, working with the BBC and other key partners.
A research paper detailing how the private network was deployed along The Mall, a project that leveraged years of collaboration and demonstrated the feasibility of 5G technology in media production, won a Best Paper Award at the 2024 NAB Broadcast and Information Technology (BEIT) Conference in Las Vegas on April 13. The conference event showcases new trends, ideas, products and services that drive innovation in content creation and delivery and runs in parallel with the NAB Show.
Historical Events
Lead author Dr Samuel Ioffe from Strathclyde University’s School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering said:
It was an incredible opportunity to be part of such a historic event and a truly collaborative effort.
“It is fantastic that our paper, which details the design, development and delivery of such an ambitious project, has been recognised as the best paper by NAB and BEITC and we are extremely grateful to the organisers and judges.”
The project, which provided the world’s largest temporary private 5G standalone network connecting cameras for the worldwide broadcast of the historic event on May 6 last year, also won an IABM Broadcast & Media Award for Best Project, Collaboration, Event or Other Innovation, and was also recognized at the NAB Show., We celebrate great innovation.
The judges noted: “This project demonstrated the best of technical collaboration and problem solving, meeting the needs of broadcasters to solve a very real problem of access to reliable spectrum and bandwidth for important events.
“The detailed planning and proof-of-concept work provided a great foundation for the practical use of the technology in a real-world environment. This is the future path forward for a very agile approach to deploying private networks to events like this.”
Uncontested reporting
The network was used by 20 major broadcasters, including BBC, CBS, Sky, and CNN. Eight 5G cells were installed along The Mall, providing reliable, contention-free coverage from Buckingham Palace to Admiralty Arch, and providing 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps) wireless connectivity to transmit high-definition (HD) video from wireless cameras to production facilities around the world.
The kit comes after successful network trials on the Loch Lomond side of the Wave 1 Rural testbed, supported by the Scottish 5G Centre, in early 2023.
Professor Bob Stewart, head of the university’s software radio team, said: “Spectrum sharing has matured over the past two years, and solutions such as neutral wireless private 5G networks for media and broadcast mean that there are new options for live streaming using wireless 5G technology for everything from local community events to professional sports.”
