By Xinyi Li, EDITOR
On the morning of March 31, the 2019 Chang’an Automobile Chongqing International Marathon kicked off at Nanbin Road. Over 30,000 marathon runners from more than 50 countries and regions galloped along the beautiful riverside runway. With the help of multi-channel HD cameras, the audience around the world could watch the live broadcasting through 5G networks in the mode of high definition and 360° panorama VR. Additionally, this was the first time that 5G commercial TV live broadcasting and 5G VR live broadcasting have appeared in the marathon history.
The first 5G live broadcasting for commercial use
first 5G live broadcasting for commercial use in China
From 7:00 to 12:00 am, during the five-hour live broadcasting, over 30 HD cameras arranged along the runway synchronously transmitted the collected images and sounds back in the first time, together with the beautiful scenery of Binjiang Road and runners’ robust figures, through the 5G networks. This was the first time in China for people to utilize the 5G networks for transmitting signal in live broadcasting a large commercial event.
A new experience for citizens in live broadcasting
According to Chongqing Unicom, the real-time downstream peak rate of the 5G networks has reached 1.2Gbps, equivalent to the broadband of over ten 100M optical fibers. Moreover, its transmission rate is over 10 times faster than that of 4G. In addition, 5G networks can support multi-channel video live broadcasting with the definition of 8K, which is clearer and more authentic than 4K TV.
Multi-channel 8K high definition VR signals
According to Chongqing Unicom, different from common monitoring-like VR live broadcasting, this VR live broadcasting transmitted multiple 8K high-definition VR signals back through 5G networks. It also adopted professional content production methods for season live broadcasting to achieve true VR event level live broadcasting. Chongqing Unicom WeChat official account and other platforms also carried out real-time live broadcasting. The live broadcasting lasted for five hours, and floods of citizens watched Chongqing Marathon at the VR demonstration sites on the scene.
5G VR live broadcasting
5G networks have covered 20 kilometers along the road
Since the end of 2018, Chongqing Unicom has started the construction of 5G networks to cover Nanbin Road and Babin Road. Up to now, nearly 100 base stations of 5G have been built on the 20-kilometer-long riverside highway from Nanbin Road to Babin Road, realizing the full coverage of the round trip runway of the full marathon.
In 2018, Chongqing became one of the 17 cities in which China Unicom have carried out 5G experiments. In 2019, China Unicom listed Chongqing in the seven pilot cities to launch 5G networking projects. This January, Chongqing issued the Implementation Opinions on Advancing the Construction and Development of 5G Communication Networks, proposed to take the lead in realizing the scaled deployment and commercialization of 5G in China, aiming to promote the deep integration of the digital economy with the real economy.
Moreover, China Unicom is conducting 5G networking trials and preparations for commercial 5G intensively.
Source: CQCB