Italian public broadcaster Rai and the European Broadcasting Union are running new 5G Broadcast trials during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, building on demonstrations carried out around Paris 2024.
The pre-commercial tests are designed to show how high-power broadcast infrastructure can deliver live, free-to-air Olympic coverage directly to smartphones and other devices, while also supporting mass-reach services such as emergency alerts.
Unlike conventional mobile streaming, 5G Broadcast is intended to push the same signal to unlimited users without congesting mobile networks or using viewers’ data allowances, combining DTT-style efficiency with 5G standards.
During the Games, partners will assess reception, robustness and user experience in the metropolitan areas of Rome and Turin, and evaluate how 5G Broadcast could fit into hybrid broadcast-broadband distribution strategies. Rai’s large-scale pre-commercial activity has been running since early 2025.
The EBU holds Olympic media rights in Europe alongside Warner Bros. Discovery through 2032, supporting broad free-to-air coverage across the continent.
