One of the many practical applications of 5G that T-Mobile and PGA of America are enabling is … [+]
To use a slightly different version of a common phrase, sometimes you need to focus on the individual trees rather than the whole forest.
For example, when it comes to 5G, most of the attention is focused on the big-picture, meta-level changes that the technology is expected to bring. Indeed, 5G is already having a significant impact on markets and society at large, thanks to much faster and more reliable download speeds for mobile devices and the popular new broadband connectivity option through FWA (Fixed Wireless Access).
But as a result, it’s easy to overlook the simpler, more practical benefits that technology can enable. A great example of this is the work T-Mobile’s 5G Advanced Network Solutions division (part of T-Mobile for Business) is doing at the PGA of America Championship golf event in Louisville, Kentucky.
T-Mobile is working with the PGA of America, CBS Sports and Sony to leverage 5G private network technology and network slicing to enable a number of event-specific outdoor applications designed to improve the overall experience for television viewers and in-venue attendees, as well as the organizations hosting and broadcasting the events.
Specifically, T-Mo is building a portable private 5G network that can be used for wireless 4K television cameras and extended coverage for mobile devices. The company is also building network slices on its macro network for point-of-sale devices.
T-Mobile’s private network, combined with Sony’s PDT-FP1 portable data transmitter and low-latency encoder/decoder, enables Sony’s FX6 4K cameras to support point-to-point 5G connections with an average latency of less than 100 milliseconds. This gives CBS Sports’ TV production team greater flexibility in the types of shots they can use, by allowing them to move wireless cameras to parts of the course as needed. Previously, this was only possible with 1080p HD cameras, not the higher resolution 4K cameras.
In addition to handheld cameras, 5G-enabled drones equipped with cameras will be used to provide even more perspectives of the Valhalla Course’s famous 13 holes.Number hole.
Another major benefit of leveraging 5G for camera connectivity is that it will significantly reduce the set-up, cabling, and other practical logistical issues that TV production companies typically face at such events. This will reduce costs, make it easier for fans to roam the course, and reduce the potential for damage to the course from production equipment.
On the event side, the PGA of America typically installs retail-related concessions throughout the course where attendees can purchase food, drinks, souvenirs, etc. To ensure reliable operation of the POS devices required to run these concessions, T-Mobile creates dedicated network slices within its larger network that are allocated specifically to these POS terminals. Additionally, the remainder of the network add-on that T-Mobile installs on the course is available for attendees to use to receive high-quality service on their mobile devices.
In fact, T-Mobile and the PGA of America plan to use the network to produce new types of content that aren’t typically seen on mainstream broadcasts, such as behind-the-scenes coverage on the driving range, to be made available on the PGA of America smartphone app and other digital channels. These productions will also utilize 5G-based ball-tracking technology to provide detailed information on ball flight, speed, curve, apex, distance and more.
Overall, this is a very comprehensive example of how 5G technology can be leveraged in some lesser known, yet very practical ways. Taken individually, none of these applications are particularly groundbreaking, and they don’t fit into the larger trends that many initially expected 5G to represent. But taken as a whole, they offer a different, more practical perspective on how 5G can have a positive impact in some simple, yet very important ways.
Disclosure: TECHnalysis Research is a technology industry market research and consulting firm and, like all companies in its sector, we have many technology vendors as clients, some of which are featured in this article.
