5G for TV Production on the Track in Turin and Bardonecchia during the Turin 2025 World University Winter Games
Rai-CRITS to the MIR – Multimedia Integration Expo in Rimini
The Turin 2025 World University Winter Games, also known as the FISU WUG Winter 2025, took place from 13 to 23 January 2025 in Turin, Bardonecchia, Pinerolo, Torre Pellice, Pragelato and Sestriere.
On this occasion, Rai with the Research Centre and the Technology Department, together with EMG Italy, CVE, One TV, Sony Europe and the WUG Organising Committee, collaborated on an experiment with 5G technologies on a private network (NPN), in the 4GHz band, applied to television production.
The experimental 5G NPN (Non Public Network) consisted of 2 cells, operating on a frequency granted for experimental purposes by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, to which all the equipment for filming and interconnection among operators was connected wirelessly.
The technology was first tested “indoor” at the Inalpi Arena in Turin during the rehearsals for the Opening Ceremony of the event, and then moved to a more complex “outdoor” scenario on the slopes of Bardonecchia to follow the Alpine Skiing, Snowboarding, Freestyle and Freeski competitions.
The first tests highlighted how this technology can significantly improve the overall efficiency in the production of events, simplifying and accelerating the installation of the infrastructure. Furthermore, being based on wireless technologies, the system allows greater freedom in positioning the cameras compared to traditional systems that connect the cameras to the control room via optical fibre. Despite the need to compress the video signals to fit within the available bandwidth limits, the flexibility of configuration, reliability and stability of the radio connection guaranteed high standards of video quality and minimal latency.
In conclusion, the experimentation gave very positive results, demonstrating how the possibility of operating in wireless mode with guaranteed capacity offers a level of flexibility that is particularly advantageous in dynamic and complex contexts, such as the one core of this experiment, and for outdoor TV production in general.
