Use case 1: End-to-end network slice for premium sports fan subscribers
Ovum’s’ research1 shows that nearly two-thirds (63%) of the world’s largest network operators’ plan to use augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) or a hybrid of these technologies, supported by 5G, to offer richer viewing experiences to fans, both at sports stadiums and while watching at home. Promising speeds up to tens of times faster and with lower latency than 4G, 5G opens the possibilities for new types of entertainment and in-stadium experiences. Audiences could, for example, watch instant replays and 360-degree streams or look up player stats via AR and VR technology, bringing them much closer to the action.

Mobile operators are optimistic about the impact of 5G on sports-related business lines and believe they could increase their ARPU by offering sport-related service plans which guaranty premium user experience. Ultra-high throughput, very low latency and radio network capacity are critical to ensure the desired premium high-quality video streaming which enable high-quality and differentiated entertainment experiences.

AR wearable devices require significant computing power for supporting real-time video transmission, computer vision, machine learning, speech recognition, rapid access to databases, and more. This places significant performance requirements on the network for ultra-reliable communication at unprecedented bandwidth and low latency levels as well as very high throughput from the programable 5G air interface.

One key 5G technical challenge is how to squeeze more data into a much faster, more efficient, and less expensive connection. Various strategies such as carrier (spectrum) aggregation, much higher frequency spectrum, and densification of the network with small cells are being deployed to address this challenge. 5G New Radio also introduces innovative technologies such as scalable numerology to support diverse spectrum deployments (from 1 to 90GHz), and a flexible slot-based frame structure to reduce latency. Even with these technologies, there is still a need to make AR headsets and glasses much more convenient to use and less bulky despite the processing power needed for real-time computing. 5G network slicing will allow an extremely thin hardware footprint to be placed into headsets, making them identical to ordinary sunglasses in look and feel. Then, with edge computing, processing can be done in the telco cloud close to the user using a suitable mechanism to dissolve any delay or jitter caused by the round trip the data must take between the device and the telco cloud. Meeting the unique performance requirements to enable lightweight, battery-efficient AR glasses and deliver a spectacularly enriched user experience requires the entire end-to-end network connection and its infrastructure to act as a cohesive, configurable platform.