Vodafone has worked with ITN to dedicate a slice of its public 5G SA network for the broadcast of the coronation
U.K. telecom group Vodafone has signed a partnership with broadcaster ITN to broadcast the coronation of King Charles III via a public 5G Standalone (SA) network, taking place May 6th, 2023.
In a release, Vodafone said it has worked with ITN to dedicate a slice of Vodafone’s public 5G SA network for the broadcast of the coronation, marking the first time any U.K telco has provided a slice of its public 5G SA network for a major event broadcast.
Vodafone carried out initial tests of its 5G SA network for public use in January 2023, when select consumers trialed the new network’s capabilities. Vodafone noted that dedicating an exclusive slice of Vodafone’s public 5G SA network to ITN will enable the secure transfer of the live coronation broadcast coverage from Westminster to ITN’s headquarters newsroom in central London.
Nick Gliddon, U.K. business director at Vodafone, said: “This partnership will make the coronation of King Charles III the first 5G SA coronation. We are proud to be working with ITN to play our part in helping make this special event happen.”
“The possibilities with 5G SA are very exciting – AI, autonomous vehicles, holographic calls, IoT and more. 5G SA will turbo-charge the UK’s digital economy and pave the way for our next digital age,” the executive added.
Vodafone highlighted that network slicing is capability enabled by 5G SA, which allows telecoms operators to create separate and isolated networks for different use cases.
The testing of the capability for this partnership was supported by Vodafone’s technology partner Ericsson and ITN’s technology partner Live U. This was done at Vodafone and Coventry University’s 5G SA Media Innovation Lab in Coventry. Vodafone said that broadcasters and other media companies, as well as the software development community, have been invited to the lab to develop 5G SA use cases for the media industry.
Vodafone initially launched 5G services in the U.K. in July of 2019. In January 2023, Vodafone claimed to be the first mobile operator in the U.K. to switch on its 5G Standalone network. Vodafone said that selected customers in London, Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol, Bath, Glasgow and Birmingham had been selected by the operator to take part in the 5G SA trial.
Last month, Vodafone launched an all-edge private 5G service offering in the U.K. for enterprise-geared on-premise cellular connectivity. The package, branded as Vodafone MPN (for mobile private network), offers standalone and non-standalone 5G (SA and NSA) radio (RAN) and core networks, plus system management, cyber security, and 24/7 support.