World’s largest temporary 5G private network covers Charles III coronation
BBC R&D has set up a private 5G network to provide high bandwidth coverage for the coronation of Charles III in the UK today.
This is largest temporary private 5G network of its kind ever deployed, working with Neutral Wireless. It also includes a smaller network for two UltraHD cameras.
At large events mobile network operators can add capacity, but this is aimed at their customers and is generally spread over a wide area. This means that broadcasters cannot rely on the commercial networks for the uplink bandwidth necessary for high resolution video.
The 5G network for the coronation follows a successful trial of 5G Non-Public Networks (NPN) at the Commonwealth Games last year. This needed a network with a high uplink capacity over a large area for news broadcasters from around the world and has led to what is the largest temporary private 5G network of its kind ever deployed.
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The network was designed for up to 30 devices all streaming large data rate video from any point along The Mall, and currently supports 60 devices. The BBC worked with UK regulator Ofcom to use 80 MHz of radio capacity centred on 3855MHz, and with Neutral Wireless looked at the best options to deploy cells that would cover the whole of The Mall.
This led to eight cells all with very low transmit power but high receive capability. This provides reliable and constant coverage from Buckingham Palace to Admiralty Arch.
Private 5G network cell coverage for the coronation of Charles III
Mobile bonding devices such as LiveU’s LU300 with 5G modems and dedicated SIMS moved the video traffic away from the public networks and onto the private network, with backhaul over fibre to Broadcasting House where it meets the internet and from there to whichever broadcaster is connected.
The beauty of this system is that for operators and broadcasters the workflow is pretty much the same as they use every day, but BBC R&D could be confident that cameras and connections would work no matter how busy the public network becomes. There are now over 60 devices connected from multiple broadcasters right around the world.
BBC R&D also implemented a smaller high capacity, low latency networks that can deliver UHD HDR pictures with bidirectional control. It has two Sony UHD cameras operating on a separate cell in front of Buckingham Palace that will help understand how these networks may be used in the future.
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