Match-day experience will be transformed by 5G says study

Spanish giants FC Barcelona and Real Madrid have recently announced high-tech plans for their respective current grounds

5G is expected to transform the sports experience for match-going football fans according to a new study.

The study conducted by software and services provider Amdocs, found that 76 per cent of network operators in Europe plan to use AR technology, which is supported by 5G. 

Last week, (April 3) Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur played for the first time in its £1 billion stadium, which is said to be one of the most technologically advanced grounds in the world.

The lower latency and faster speeds from 5G technology is expected to open up new experiences in stadiums such as  360-degree streams and the use of AR and VR to look up player stats, say Amdocs.

Next year’s European Championship’s has prompted European operators to speed up 5G rollout, with 65 per cent of these operators saying that major sporting events have influenced this.

The same study also found that nearly a third (29 per cent) of European operators plan 5G launches in conjunction with sporting events.

A further 82 per cent of European operators are targeting Euro 2020 to deliver its 5G experiences to the mass consumer market, with a further 94 per cent of these markets planning to trial 5G within sports and esports venues by the end of next year.

Amdocs CMO Gary Miles said: “It’s essential for operators to find successful use cases for 5G given the investment levels. Amdocs’ research has revealed that major live sports events could hold the key to consumer adoption of 5G.

“Operators have identified these events as the springboard for rollout of 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.”