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It seems like we’ve been here before: Another report extolling
the potential of 5G, including new forms of media such as interactive
holographic renderings or giant interactive screens inside our home. Well,
we’re going to have to wait a bit longer for 5G to fulfil its promise, but a
wide range of video applications can expect to benefit as rollout proceeds.
The paper, “Video over 5G: New Networks, New Possibilities,”
examined the video innovations and emerging use cases experiences made possible
by adoption of 5G services worldwide.
Researched by Futuresource Consulting and commissioned by
InterDigital, the study is adamant that 5G networks will become commonplace within
the next five years. They can be expected to deliver gigabit speeds, ultra-low
latency, higher reliability, and improved density in device connectivity.
Data carried over mobile networks is forecast to rise to 3.4
zettabytes globally by 2027, with every individual smartphone consuming on
average 41 gigabytes of data monthly in the same year. Alongside, video traffic
is projected to expand to 79% of all data, equivalent to 2.7 zettabytes
annually by 2027.
It is conceivable that the number of devices used to consume
video and audio content over 5G will expand beyond smartphones and tablets to
smartwatches, VR/AR head mounted displays, PCs, TVs and cars.
“In future, 5G will become the foundation of everyone’s
mobile experience,” the reports suggests. “In fact, 5G could potentially unlock
a route to market for seemingly far off possibilities such as interactive
holographic renderings, or Fahrenheit 451-esque parlor walls capable of
transporting consumers into fully immersive experiences for business, education
and entertainment.”
Before we get to such exotic heights, there’s the business
of rollout to overcome. This is most advanced in South Korea where 90% of the
country’s mobile subscribers are expected to have access to 5G by 2026. South
Korea already has most base stations per head of population, a density 10 times
greater than the US, and 13 times that of the EU, with each serving fewer than
320 people. This also means South Korean subscribers are able to access up to
400 Mbps download speeds across the country.
Globally, as of December 2021, 80 countries had commercially
available 5G networks online, with another 37 countries either investing in
trials or otherwise planning to launch 5G technology. More than 190 mobile
network operators now have 5G services available commercially.
In Europe, the EU Commission target stating that all urban
areas and primary transport corridors (such as highways) should have
uninterrupted 5G coverage by 2025 is likely to be met, the report says. The
coverage initiative was expanded in 2021, with a new intention of delivering 5G
services to all “populated areas” and major transport paths by 2030. This more
progressive goal is also on track because at least 50% of households across the
region were reached by at least one 5G network, as of January 2022.
Operators in North America are pursuing a different
deployment roadmap, with Verizon having concentrated initially on mmWave “hot
spots” across US cities, and with AT&T using its assignment of 600 MHz
low-band spectrum to deliver wide area coverage. To date, the United States has
assigned the most mmWave spectrum across four bands overall — 24 GHz, 28 GHz,
39 GHz, and 47 GHz; this contrasts with only one band in the EU, Japan and
South Korea, and no mmWave deployments to date in China. There are now around
100,000 5G base stations installed across North America, delivering services to
approximately 16 million subscribers as of March 2022.
“However, while North America had a head-start it is now
falling behind other regions, with average 5G mobile speeds of 75 Mbps, which
is sometimes lower than that available over 4G LTE. This will improve as
coverage expands, alongside the move towards standalone 5G network
architectures.”
New Video Services
The higher bandwidth available over 5G will “undoubtedly
unlock UHD services and new forms of media, such as volumetric content,” the
study finds.
In fact, all video applications will be “better on 5G;”
businesses must identify applications that happen “only on 5G.”
While 4G could still be afflicted by latency issues, the
video industry widely agrees that 5G has what it takes to be a game-changer for
live contribution.
“Blending increased reliability with very low latency and
the ability to maintain superb video quality, 5G is set to have an especially
transformative effect on live sports and news.”
It will, for instance, bring greater simplicity and
flexibility to camera signal transportation, which has historically tended to
involve complex combinations of wired and wireless technologies. As a result,
it also holds the promise of reduced production costs. With broader concerns
about interference and public service requirements still to be fully resolved,
private 5G networks — in some cases established using network slicing, bringing
guaranteed bandwidth for specific news events or sports tournaments — could
ultimately prove very popular.
5G for Television Transmission
Trials have discovered that 5G broadcast could be used for
DTT. The key advantage is in enabling video content to be delivered to several
users simultaneously using multicast, rather than individual streams over
unicast, optimizing network bandwidth usage while minimizing distribution
costs.
The study explains that broadcast over 5G is especially
interesting for Europe, as there is a deployment opportunity using the 700 MHz
spectrum band previously occupied by terrestrial television services. Technical
studies conclude this is approximately twice as efficient as Digital Video
Broadcasting — Terrestrial (DVB-T) which would create spare capacity in the
spectrum for alternative use cases.
Beyond 2030, there is potential for the remaining
terrestrial television frequencies to be reallocated to 5G, with TV broadcasts
migrating from DVB to 5G LTE broadcast, although this is far from being a
guaranteed outcome when cable, satellite and broadband offer feasible
alternatives. The opportunity to utilize 5G services reignites the debate over
whether 5G LTE broadcast could, or indeed should, replace digital TV
broadcasting standards such as DVB-T2 or ATSC 3.0, especially now that UHD, and
even HD, broadcast is becoming challenging over diminished terrestrial
spectrum.
Additionally, Cband spectrum utilized by satellite operators
in the US is also reallocated to mid-band 5G services, further increasing the
pressure on traditional broadcast TV services. The overall picture on 5G
broadcast is yet to fully develop. Wide support on devices remains a crucial
consideration, as this drives the business models that govern when 5G broadcast
becomes commercially viable.
Meanwhile, there is ongoing debate and questions as to why
multiple and largely disparate satellite, cable and terrestrial broadcast
networks must be run concurrently, especially when further innovation will
certainly utilise 5G for other multi-media rich services, ultimately allowing
television, radio and mobile data to share a common infrastructure.
5G for Live Mixed-Reality Production
A UK government backed test project, 5G Edge-XR, has
illustrated the possibility for viewers to experience live sports using mixed
reality (XR) via televisions, smartphones and VR headsets.
For live sports events, project participant BT Sport
revealed a mixed reality stadium experience for 5G enabled smartphones that
presents spectators with augmented graphics on a live rugby game.
Another application illustrates full volumetric video
capture, which essentially records the sports action in real time and converts
the data into point clouds. The visuals are then broadcast or streamed to
present viewers with a VR rendering or, in future, a holographic projection of
the live action. The technology is being trialed in stadia and includes team
games and wider applications in motorsports.
“There are many outcomes that will distinguish the success
of the 5G Edge-XR program, one of which is to define the future of streaming
content and XR entertainment delivered across 5G networks internationally.
Ultimately this could prove revolutionary for hundreds of thousands of sports
fans by streaming XR media. Furthermore, this technology is being tested in
areas such as healthcare and education, the success of which could facilitate
virtual learning environments for students across the world.”
Impact on Streamers
The most obvious result of ubiquitous 5G coverage and 5G
smartphones in everyone’s hands is to extend the reach of SVOD services — and
enable them to diversify into adjacent markets.
In the white paper’s formula, “As international SVOD
services near saturation in mature markets in the coming years, it is expected
they will leverage new features such as immersive video formats and increased
interactive functionality as a method to justify increasing ASPs to continue
encouraging revenue growth.”
One line of attack is cloud gaming into which Amazon (with
Luna) and Google (Stadia) have already launched. Current technology is not
equipped to deal with the latency demands of gamers seeking a real-time and
smooth gaming experience but 5G could change this.
“While uptake of this new wave of cloud gaming services has
not been overwhelming … it could become an incredibly lucrative segment
commercially. 5G is viewed as a key enabler of cloud processing, facilitating
low latency transfer of game rendering at high frame rates.”
Another opportunity is streaming 8K content, which the
report suggests could be on the horizon. According to the 8K Association,
Netflix and other streamers have used a technique called “per-title encoding”
or “content aware encoding,” which assigns encoding parameters on a
scene-by-scene basis. This allows larger packets of data to be split into more
manageable parcels to reduce the loss of information during heavy-usage
periods. 5G may aid in reducing this strain on data transfers, particularly as
8K content becomes more commonplace, given that 8K data files are over four
times larger than 4K.
Media Made for the Metaverse
So-called next-generation 360-degree video — stereoscopic
8K, HDR, 90+ frames per second — will require up to 200 Mbps — and that’s what
5G can deliver.
With an installed base of only 35 million units globally, VR
is yet to revolutionize the way consumers enjoy content partly because of the
clunky form factor of the headgear.
However, linking devices to cloud-based GPUs via a 5G
connection could aid in reducing the hardware costs, improving the device
capability for consumers, and helping encourage mass market adoption.
“Combining VR with 5G should produce lightweight headsets,
reduce costs and encourage mass market adoption.”
Companies are evaluating the opportunity for 5G broadcast,
not just for television services, but also locally for live events in stadia,
and even for powering new AR and VR experiences.
“Unquestionably, all existing video applications will be
‘better on 5G,’” says Simon Forrest, principal technology analyst at
Futuresource. “The focus today is in distinguishing how all these advances
combined will inspire companies to conceive new applications, products and
services that were not possible before… those that can happen ‘only on 5G.’”
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