As we await the inception of 5G technologies around the globe, we recently discussed how or whether it’ll make a difference in India. Having said that, it’s now reported that India will soon experience a glimpse of the upcoming cellular technology for the first time and that will be through a sports event.
A research was conducted by Ovum for Amdocs covering C-level and other senior decision makers at 60 different marketing, network and IT companies involved around 5G trials and rollouts. The research outlined that all network operators in India are planning to offer augmented reality services over 5G in support of sports events. Of all the operators in India, 75 percent of them will also be using virtual reality to offer a varied viewing experience.
The report says that 5G will bring in changes to entertainment and in-stadium experiences thus enabling users to watch instant replays and 360-degree streams and player stats through AR and VR.
In addition to that, 5G is also expected to change the perspective of TV viewing when watching sports. The survey revealed that 75 percent of the Indian operators are planning to provide new multi-screen Pay-TV services with improved mobile TV and video quality to users.
It has also been brought to our attention that the possibility of enjoying the latest 5G technology isn’t that far out in info as 75 percent of operators also appear to be trialling 5G within sports and esports venues by the end of next year. All the operators also expect a commercial launch of 5G services by the end of 2021.
5G will also upgrade the platform of esports as all operators plan to support esports in the 5G era either as technology partners, event organisers, broadcasters or an OTT video provider.
Speaking about their latest survey, Amdocs CMO, Gary Miles said “Amdocs’ research has revealed that operators see major live sports events as an ideal platform for demonstrating a whole range of new interactive and immersive services. This will give consumers their first real taste of what 5G can deliver and allow operators to showcase the capabilities of their next-generation networks. We will also see operators becoming integral to the growth of esports with 5G opening the door to future investment and revenue opportunities”.
Ovum Consumer and Entertainment, Chief Analyst, Ed Barton also commented saying “5G is not just a new wireless technology from a network equipment provider, it’s a fundamental transformation of mobile networks, infrastructure and business models. It will drive the creation of new applications and services, which in turn will require new operating and business models, force changes across operator technology setups and emphasising the need to integrate the new with the old. Our discussions with the world’s leading operators prove that it’s already a challenging journey. The industry has two years or less to get it right if it is to hit the ground running”.