Telefónica says leads in TV production in Spain with 5G thanks to the development of several pioneering projects that contribute to the consolidation of new technology and the digitisation of the audiovisual sector.
In all of them, the telco has connected a TV camera with 5G technology through a backpack with video encoding, equipped with 5G modems, which allows live broadcasts with high quality and low delay. The high bandwidth, low latency, data upload capacity and stability of 5G allow, for example, to improve the naturalness of live interviews with a fluid response from the person being interviewed. Likewise, it makes it easier to broadcast video with HD quality and even, although there are camera movements, it maintains the stability of the signal and the quality of the video received in the realisation of the TV. Additionally, Telefónica is testing the use drones to broadcast live sporting events using this same 5G-based system.
Telefónica adds that it has used the first 5G connected backpack equipment in Spain thanks to the collaboration of two leading providers in the sector, Aviwest and Mobile Viewpoint.
According to Mercedes Fernández, manager of innovation at Telefónica Spain, “5G represents a revolutionary change in live broadcasts of the media, by making them more efficient and flexible. These projects have shown us that the media is one of the sectors that can benefit first from the capabilities of 5G and from the wide network of coverage of this technology already deployed by Telefónica. In addition, the union of Telefónica’s extensive fibre network with all the potential of 5G will drive the digitisation of the audiovisual sector and other sectors such as industry and the connected car”.
Telefónica has made a total of four live shows in which it has used the two frequency bands currently available for 5G, namely 3.5 GHz and 700 MHz.
It also carried out, in collaboration with Castilla-La Mancha Media, the first television broadcast with 5G on the 700MHZ band from Alcázar de San Juan in the morning news programme on regional TV.