5G IN STADIUMS: BETWEEN LAUNCHED PROJECTS AND FUTURE DREAMS

Last week’s article on our blog discussed the sports industry, which allows athletes to have access to top-tier technical equipment, enabling fans and professionals alike to admire their performances on the field. This article, however, focuses on the spectators. More precisely, it discusses the increasingly innovative and inclusive technologies that allow them to feel even closer to their idols and analyze their performances in greater detail.

In recent weeks, some news outlets have reported the imminent introduction of 5G technology in several European football stadiums. But what is 5G? Standing for “fifth generation,” it is the new mobile communication standard that promises connection speeds that, according to experts, should be at least 100 times faster than the current 4G LTE standard. You might wonder how this can improve the experience for users and fans: simply put, 5G enables interaction with the surrounding environment, ensuring much higher network performance even in the presence of many simultaneous connections—a typical scenario in sports venues.

For example, spectators could watch new 360° Full HD videos produced in real-time, enjoy a post-match interview conducted on the sidelines by holograms of their favorite program hosts, use new digital services based on virtual reality, or view the sporting event from a Full HD webcam placed in various parts of the stadium. Additionally, thanks to greater interaction with IoT devices, they could enter the locker rooms and even go onto the field if the players wore special micro-cameras. Besides the fans, those working in the stadium would also benefit from real-time access to endless statistics on the match’s progress and the athletes’ individual performances. In fact, there is even speculation that this new technology could be used in the referee’s decision-making process, improving and facilitating VAR (Video Assistant Referee) decisions—a much-discussed innovation that continues to be a topic of heated debate. Finally, telecom operators would see a significant reduction in operational costs for managing the stadium’s infrastructure.

The first sports event broadcast live using 5G technology took place in November 2018, thanks to an agreement between Wembley Stadium in London and the pay-TV company BT Sport. Among those developing projects destined to become permanent fixtures are TIM, which has launched an experimental project involving fans at the Olympic Stadium in Rome and the Dacia Arena in Udine; Vodafone, which is negotiating with Manchester United to bring 5G to Old Trafford; Ericsson and Telefónica, which aim to make Barcelona’s Camp Nou the first stadium with permanent 5G coverage. Specifically, part of the Camp Nou project involves installing 360° cameras in various points of the stadium, allowing spectators with VR glasses to enjoy the match as if they were at the sidelines.

Of course, this is an innovation with significant economic and regulatory implications. Regarding the economic aspect, it’s worth noting that TIM has invested €2.4 billion just to acquire frequencies, signaling its serious intention in this field with significant profit margins. As for the regulatory side, new commercial agreements with pay-TV companies will be required, along with substantial modifications to sports regulations. For instance, in Italy, live images of a Serie A match can currently only be broadcast by the broadcaster that holds the exclusive rights, and players are prohibited from wearing any device capable of transmitting.

We eagerly await to see how this innovative technology will change the way we experience sports events in the coming years, potentially retiring the current model of consuming sports content via television or computer screens.