Vodafone will dedicate a slice of its public 5GSA network to ITN for the broadcast of the coronation. The exclusive slice of Vodafone’s public 5GSA network will enable the swift and secure transfer of the live coronation broadcast coverage from Westminster to ITN’s HQ newsroom in Gray’s Inn Road, so it can then be shared across the nation and then worldwide.
Nick Gliddon, UK business director, Vodafone, explained, “This innovative partnership will make HRH King Charles III coronation the first 5GSA coronation. We are proud to be working with ITN to play our part in helping make this special event happen. Innovation is at the heart of Vodafone, from the first text message to the first mobile call, we have been central in the UK’s adoption of digital technology.
“Now we are continuing this tradition by being the first to switch on 5GSA for the public to trial and providing a slice of this network for the coronation. The possibilities with 5GSA are very exciting – AI, autonomous vehicles, holographic calls, IoT and more, 5GSA will turbo-charge the UK’s digital economy and pave the way for our next digital age.”
Jon Roberts, director of television, production and innovation at ITN, added, “It feels fitting that, 70 years on from the 1953 coronation, itself a milestone in outside broadcasting, ITN will be delivering coverage to audiences around the world whilst trialling the future of cellular connectivity.
“We are proud of our role in broadcasting this historic event, and excited to be blazing a trail in partnership with Vodafone as we explore the capabilities of 5GSA technology together.”
Network slicing is a new capability enabled by 5GSA. One of its key benefits is that it allows telecoms operators to create separate and isolated networks for different use cases. Each slice can be configured differently. As they are isolated from each other, the performance on one would not impact another.
In the broadcasting industry, this development can set a minimum upload speed threshold to guarantee that digitally dense content is uploaded quickly and reliably for live streaming. Network slicing can also remove the risk of network congestion impacting the performance of the broadcast. This is particularly relevant for mass events such as the coronation as well as for live content contribution in isolated locations.
Network slicing can give broadcasters private mobile network for video transmission with no extra heavy-duty equipment, planning, back-office or spectrum licensing needed, and it can be accessed all via a SIM card.
The testing of the capability of this partnership was supported by Vodafone’s technology partner Ericsson and ITN’s technology partner LiveU. This was done at Vodafone and Coventry University’s 5GSA Media Innovation Lab in Coventry, which opened earlier this year.
Broadcasters and other media companies, as well as the software development community, have been invited to the lab to develop 5GSA use cases for the media industry, working alongside Vodafone engineers and Coventry University academics. The lab supports proof of concepts and allow development and testing of end-to-end solutions in a safe and configurable environment.