Features

Deportivo stadium to blaze trail for 5G

Spanish telco Telefónica has fitted the Estadio Abanca-Riazor, home of Segunda División B football club Deportivo de La Coruña, with what it claims is the “most complete deployment of 5G coverage” in Europe as part of plans to step up the venue’s technological capabilities.

The dedicated network includes 5G coverage in the 3.5 GHz band and millimetre frequencies, ensuring bandwidth levels of several gigabits per second and ultra-low latencies.

The technology will enable matches to be broadcast using Edge Computing and artificial intelligence, and also allow services such as KissCam and heatmaps via augmented reality. The KissCam and heatmap services are provided by video production company Cinfo.

Telefónica has deployed an Edge Computing centre in A Coruńa to house Cinfo’s tiivii solution for broadcasting and automatic TV broadcasting. The solution’s artificial intelligence algorithms allow game analysis to be performed in real time by broadcasters.

Telefónica said the technology demonstrates that broadcasting a match is possible without having to move a mobile TV unit to the place of the event.

The Abanca-Riazor has a capacity of over 32,000.

Image: Jose Luis Cernadas Iglesias/Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)/Edited for size