Neutral Wireless were pleased to be featured by BT Media and Broadcast, for our provision of a private 5G network at the Saracens’ Rugby back in April, in a news story on 11th Nov 2022 from SVG-Europe.
The article also features a short recounting of the IBC ‘5G Remote Production… In the Middle of Nowhere‘ project, where Neutral Wireless provided the 5G private networks and modem solutions in New Zealand, Kenya, Ireland, Denmark, and the UK on a variety of international shared bands at sports events (such as the Highland Games!), festivals, cultural activities, and right on the equator in the Ol-Pejeta conservancy.
“We worked with a number of parties, including the BBC, Vislink and Neutral Wireless again, but it was coupling 5G, non-public network cells with backhaul over things like the Starlink satellite network, so that you can go live from anywhere.
John Ellerton, BT Media and Broadcast (Head of Futures)
“And so we did a Maori festival in New Zealand, we did Kenya, and we did the National Ploughing competitions in southern Ireland. And, we did the Highland Games in Scotland which we showed during IBC in September. And in all cases, we were able to go live from a venue that didn’t have fibre connectivity.”
It’s exciting to agree with tier 1 organisations that shared spectrum solutions are now part of the mobile/wireless landscape. Particularly in the UK, where n77 and Ofcom’s shared licence efforts allow bands of up to 100MHz to be accessed for private networks — including for special events including sports.
At Neutral Wireless, we believe that private 5G network solutions such as our Lomond 5G Network-In-a-Box will continue to prove applicable for an increasing number of immediate and future use cases. Having delivered broadcast-quality live video in six countries across three continents this year, our network has proven both flexible (in terms of available spectrum or uplink/downlink requirements) and versatile (in terms of available backhaul).
Our trials have proven that private networks are no longer just a technology of the future, but a very real commercial and technological opportunity in the present.