Premium 5G service for professional video content production
To do live event broadcast wireless in a nation-wide location, national broadcaster TV2 and mobile network provider TDC NET wanted to redefine their enterprise-to-enterprise (E2E) service capabilities. Targeting real-time critical communication, we jointly deployed a 5G proof of concept (PoC) for Network Slicing utilizing Radio Resource Partitioning (RRP) and Realtime Observatory to assess the technical feasibility of the solution, offering greater capabilities in the TDC NET macro network.
Highlights
Our world-first macro network implementation – enterprise-to-enterprise service level agreement (E2E SLA) solution based on Network Slicing capabilities – allowed our partners TDC NET and TV2 to deploy on-demand 5G connectivity based on performance quality needs together with real-time observability on critical communication, to test the connectivity of professional video content production during a real-life event, with zero downtime.
Standing out from the crowd
The connection from TV2’s wireless live news camera was granted a reserved partition with a certain minimum allocation of radio resources in the 5G macro network. This allowed TV2’s 5G camera team to be flexible and to stand out in a crowd of thousands, ensuring that their traffic would go through with guaranteed bandwidth and latency even at a peak event such as the Queen’s Birthday. The unused capacity is dynamically made available to other network slices, enabling delivery of differentiated services with SLA assurance, while at the same time using valuable spectrum efficiently.
Seeing is believing
In a world-first proof of concept, TV2 was able to monitor the performance of their prioritized 5G connection instantly. Our new software solution provided TV2 with real-time visibility into the performance of their 5G “slice”. Ultimately, this gave TV2 greater peace of mind and enabled new ways to operate with live broadcast equipment.
Premium connectivity from field to floor
To ensure a high service level, connectivity was provided end-to-end, from the 5G camera in the field all the way to the production floor at TV2’s headquarters. This allowed for a new type of premium enterprise-to-enterprise service to be delivered – unlocking future real-time critical communications services for other sectors.
Background
TDC NET has been a leading connectivity provider in Denmark for over 140 years, helping to build the telecommunication infrastructure for the entire region. Today, they are at the forefront of delivering cutting-edge 5G compatibility to their customers, connecting nearly 1.5 million users across the country.
As part of their partnership with TV2, TDC NET and Ericsson’s Innovation Hub wanted to pilot innovative 5G technology as a use case for enterprise-to-enterprise solutions. This proof of concept was deployed during the live broadcast of the Queen’s birthday celebration delivered from Marselisborg Castle in April – to test 5G connectivity for professional content production. TV2 was given prioritized connectivity in TDC NET’s 5G network, allowing 5G-enabled cameras to test the speed of the video data exchanges. Together, they hoped to understand the potential of 5G in producing high-performance live video broadcast nation-wide with guaranteed bandwidth and latency requirements.
The challenge
TDC NET wanted to test the power and performance of their E2E 5G service as part of a proof of concept with TV2. The challenge was to ensure stable, consistent, and real-time uplink from 5G-enabled cameras directly to TV2’s video control center. This would go directly from the device to upload via the 5G network in real-time.
The objective of this proof of concept was not only to prove the efficiency of 5G within critical communication uses, but also to assess the upstreaming of business opportunities for critical communication in the 5G domain – addressing the requirements beyond mobile broadband. Added challenges came from reading and understanding the technical feasibility of scaling this technology for enterprise use, as well as reporting on performance effectively throughout the process.
TDC NET, along with its partners, wanted to prove the viability of enterprise-to-enterprise connections.
The solution
Ericsson’s Digital Service Solution unit worked with TDC NET to develop a compatible E2E solution: An E2E SLA solution. TV2 utilized this macro production network to provide a seamless live TV broadcast from the Queen’s birthday celebration. This new solution enables wide area critical communication serviceability for the broadcast industry. Beyond connectivity, this new solution provides premium service capability via enterprise controllable network priority, device-level real-time observability, and a low investment entry point.
This innovative solution enables network slicing with guaranteed radio resource partitioning for defined devices, powered by Ericsson Radio Access Network (RAN) and 5G Core technology. The radio resource is completely dynamic, allowing for added flexibility within mobile broadband sharing the same frequency – contributing to a clearer, more refined signal. Our solution came with a bespoke dashboard allowing for single user observability. Developed by Ericsson ONE Network Solutions, this allowed TV2 and TDC NET to have real-time observability of a single-camera level throughput, on latency, jitter, and packet loss – reporting on performance as it happened. The E2E SLA Solution contributed valuable data on network quality throughout the broadcast, connecting TDC NET Edge and TV2 office in Copenhagen with secure SD-WAN technology, provided by Fortinet.
The result
The proof of concept connected TV2’s internal production network to TDC NET’s mobile network seamlessly. It also gave one of TV2's camera teams priority in the 5G network, ensuring that their video data would go all the way back to their exchange without delay, and gave TV2 a new tool to monitor network performance in real-time. Prioritized connectivity was provided end-to-end, extending TV2’s internal production network into TDC NET’s mobile network, creating a faster, more secure and stable connection for live broadcasts as well as other sectors relying on critical communications services.
This can be considered a huge step forward in the delivery of 5G for critical communications. This is the first-time a live enterprise has experienced a premium service – with faster speeds and lower latency – whilst having the ability to observe results in real-time. Looking to the future implementation of this proof of concept, enterprise and device vendors will now be able to utilize mobile broadband networks in an entirely new way, with confidence in consistency, quality, and performance.
