Telstra completed a successful trial of the 5G Standalone Network Slicing technology with Network Ten to support the coverage of this year’s Flemington Spring Racing carnival.
Telstra’s 5G Network Slicing technology provides a video, audio and data connection that combines the low cost and availability of Telstra’s broad mobile network with the high-quality transport required to deliver live television.
The Spring Racing Carnival covered four days of racing including Victoria Derby Day, Melbourne Cup, followed by Oaks Day and culminating in Champion Stakes Day and provided a great opportunity to explore the challenges and benefits for mobile media contribution – a large venue requiring un-tethered cameras, challenging video signals with fast moving sports, a large crowd which creates congestion on the network and a high pressure environment of live television which requires rugged reliable technology.
Head of APAC, Telstra Broadcast Services, Karen Clark, said “Telstra’s Standalone Network Slicing trial at the iconic Spring Racing Carnival has again showcased our leadership in 5G, in a real world setting, for the delivery of live television. We have operated the trial successfully on all four race days, clearly demonstrating the effectiveness of 5G Network Slicing for uplink of live, premium video feeds. We’re excited that this trial has been able to offer our media and broadcast customer the opportunity to produce high bandwidth, low latency television from a congested venue, without the need for traditional wired infrastructure.”
Telstra’s trial setup sat within the Outside Broadcast precinct at Flemington Racecourse using a 5G modem and external antenna connecting to a local mobile network cell powered by Ericsson that supports 5G Standalone (SA) with network slicing and radio resource partition.
Following the successful conclusion of this technical trial, Telstra will look at opportunities to extend to other customers, venues and media contribution use-cases.