Telefónica and Sony collaborated on a 5G connectivity trial in Madrid, achieving speeds of several gigabits per second using Telefónica’s high capacity in the 26 GHz band, mmWave.
Telefónica has collaborated with Sony to carry out a pioneering 5G connectivity trial at the Movistar Arena in Madrid, achieving speeds of several gigabits per second through the use of the 26 GHz band, also known as the millimetre band or mmWave.
Telefónica is the only operator in Spain to have 1,000 MHz of spectrum in this band, a capacity equivalent to the bandwidth of up to ten 5G operators using current 3.5 GHz technology, enabling it to make a capacity available far superior to that of conventional 5G.
5G mmWave
5G mmWave is the highest frequency band (24 GHz to 100 GHz) of 5G network connectivity, designed to achieve the highest speeds and greatest bandwidth for users. Many 5G users are now used to lower frequencies like 5 GHz. However, although all these connections are within the 5G realm of technologies, only mmWave achieves the fastest connection speeds.
Prospective users need to be aware that 5G mmWave has a shorter connection range and a lower ability to penetrate objects than the other frequencies. In other words, mmWave is optimised to achieve extremely fast connections for dense areas with clear line of sight, while complementing low-band and mid-band 5G for balanced coverage and performance. However, despite its more limited range, mmWave is the clear winner in terms of bandwidth for user-heavy environments.
As a result, this pioneering pilot project in Spain has demonstrated how 5G mmWave can simultaneously support the intensive use of thousands of people at an event and professional applications requiring the transmission of large amounts of data in real time, such as multiple video feeds for the television broadcast of a sporting or musical event.
Heavy Uplink
A main focus of the trial was the use of a new type of configuration called Heavy Uplink, referring to a network optimised for uplink bandwidth, designed to deliver exceptionally high upload speeds. At the Movistar Arena, upload speeds of over 1.8 Gbps were achieved, the highest speed deployed to date on a commercial 5G network in Spain. This is a key capacity for activities such as live video broadcasting or remote audiovisual production, even in environments with very high traffic, something that is only within Telefónica’s reach due to the extensive spectrum it holds in the 26 GHz band.
The pilot was carried out in collaboration with Sony, which was able to test the operation of a 5G audiovisual broadcasting system based on elements such as the CBK-RPU7 remote production unit (a portable 5G video transmission device attached to a camera) for ultra-low latency HEVC video encoding. 4K UHD images captured by a Sony HXC-FZ90 (high-performance 4K HDR studio camera) were transmitted after encoding at up to 100Mbps to a 5G network via Sony’s PDT-FP1 portable data transmitter and then decoded by an NXL-ME80 media processor.
Industry Applications and Customer Services
Leonor Ostos, Director of Product and Service Development at Telefónica Spain, remarked, “This installation in the 26 GHz 5G band at the Movistar Arena demonstrates our work toward networks into the future. This technology enables use cases involving the management of large volumes of data in real time, encouraging both professional use within the industry, and a connected experience for the public at mass events such as concerts and major sporting events. This development also consolidates our position as an innovative, competitive company, focused on customer service.”
Rob Thorne, Category Head of Networked Live, Sony Professional Europe, stated, “5G promises greater flexibility for production companies, but bandwidth and architecture limitations have held it back until now. By combining the 5G mmWave connectivity deployed at the Movistar Arena, with Sony's HEVC codec, we're showing that 5G can meet the high-quality, low-latency demands of live production today”.
This millimetre-wave pilot marks another step forward for Telefónica in its role in the transformation of sports entertainment through the deployment of 5G television production solutions, in which it has achieved milestones such as automated broadcasting with ultra-low latency at stadiums including the Abanca-Riazor in A Coruña and the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.
Acciona Open de España
Another notable example of this capability was the production of the Acciona Open de España in 2021, during which a 5G network was used to connect drones and wireless cameras for its communications and television broadcasts. This use case served as a test bench for what golf or other sports events could be like with 5G, and how it would affect the fan experience and the broadcast.
Several connected drones were positioned on various holes and transmitted their video signals via 5G, capturing new camera angles for viewers. Telefónica’s infrastructure also relayed the video signals from the broadcast cameras through the mobile network with 5G encoders, AVIWEST’s AIR-5G series and StreamHub, receiver, decoder and cloud distribution platform deployed on Telefónica’s edge computing, specifically for the event.
Telefónica’s installation of a mobile unit and 5G antennas, broadcasting in the 26 GHz band, helped bring high-performance WiFi coverage to areas of the venue where Internet traffic was highest. pro.sony
