5G technology is being used to bring TV viewers closer to the action over the next two weeks at the FIS Nordic Ski World Championships in Trondheim.
Between 26 February and 9 March, the world’s best Nordic skiers will compete in three of winter sports’ toughest disciplines: cross-country skiing, ski jumping and Nordic combined. Broadcasters face challenges of their own in keeping fans up to date, given the large competition area, simultaneous events and wintry conditions.
Host broadcaster NRK, which will show the championships in Norway and provide footage to partners around the world, has brought in Telia which has reserved radio spectrum and installed extra mobile base stations on site. Thirteen wireless cameras are connected to this local set-up, which then joins up with Telia’s stand-alone 5G network.
Henning Huuse, Manager 5G Business Development, Telia Norway: “NRK gets dedicated capacity for its cameras and can broadcast live from all of them simultaneously. Because the cameras are so small and completely wireless, NRK can try out new angles and content. There’s even a rumour they’ll have close-ups of ski jumpers taking the lift to the top of the slope.
“We’ve tested something similar with the Norwegian Armed Forces, but NRK will put even more demands on the network, due to the huge amounts of data sent from the cameras.”
In addition to three permanent base stations, Telia has added seven temporary units for the event.
In December, Telia became the first operator in Norway to achieve nationwide 5G coverage and recently took the number one spot in Rohde & Schwarz’s Norwegian network benchmark.
