Orange and Cisco are major 5G providers for the Paris games
Obvios and other startups provide private 5G networking in a box
Broadcasters, meanwhile, use bonded 4G to stream video
In the late 18th Century, the Paris Catacombs were used to move the contents of older cemeteries 20 meters underground without disturbing City of Light's living denizens. Similarly, Parisiennes today are largely oblivious to the private networks filling the air above the city to serve the needs of broadcasters for the summer Olympics of 2024.
TV broadcasters in Paris and beyond are using private 5G networks in a box, which combine a radio access network (RAN) with a 5G mobile core in a moveable case.
Fierce has already reported on the work that France Télévisions has done with startup Obvios using 5G private networks. The work with Obvios will continue with video coverage of a surfing competition at the games via its private 5G in a box.
Surfin’ FRA
“France Télévisions is using a system from Obvios (their private 5G Dome) for the surfing competition in Teahupo'o, Tahiti. That uses Haivision's private 5G video transmission system,” Roy Chua, principal analyst at AvidThink told us in an email. (Yes, Tahiti is obviously nowhere near Paris. Just go with it.)
Meanwhile, Orange is the major mobile operator providing 5G private network services for the games, Chua said.
“Primarily the main network for the games, the broadcasting in Paris, is Orange, using a 5G standalone [5G SA] network stretched over 6 kilometers [3.7 miles] of the River Seine, as well as venues like Stade de France and Arena Bercy,” Chua said. “That's a Cisco-powered network that's separate from Orange's public network — so not network slicing off the public but a separate standalone private network."
“Orange has deployed two separate private 5G networks optimized for higher uplink throughput to support broadcasting applications,” said Asad Khan, Research Director at SNS Telecom & IT. “In addition, France's national police force and gendarmerie are using a hybrid public-private network setup — based on Orange's macro RAN infrastructure and a dedicated core network — to support both PTT voice communications and broadband data applications with priority over public subscribers."
4G bonded video
And some broadcasters are also using other methods to transmit video from the games, said Gabriel Brown, Heavy Reading senior principal analyst for mobile networks. “Many broadcasters will use multi-SIM devices that bond [4G] LTE channels to enhance uplink and increase reliability – the standard solution today is to use IP-video over bonded cellular solutions, from companies such as LiveU, to connect remote mobile cameras to media production rooms,” Brown wrote.
Advanced telecom technologies ensure seamless broadcasting and connectivity for the Olympics and surrounding events. Much like the historic catacombs, wireless networks operate largely unnoticed, yet are essential to success.