SES teams with mobile network operators to enable end-to-end 5G

SES teams with mobile network operators to enable end-to-end 5G
Editor
| 31 July 2018

As a clear indication of the hybrid broadcast and communications world of the future, satellite operator SES has announced support for the 5G Verticals Innovation Infrastructure (5G-VINNI) project.

SES TVGE 20Feb2018The project is designed to support the development of end-to-end capabilities of the next-generation mobile network, which is capable of supporting high quality broadcast experiences, and enable live demonstrations of 5G use cases to accelerate 5G adoption.

As an example of the momentum for 5G technology and its application in TV and video, in March 2018 KDDI and Samsung Electronics announced the successful completion of a 5G field trial in Japan, the first test of the network using 5G tablets in the country. The trial showcased a live feed of 4K video content downloaded and streamed simultaneously on 5G-enable tablets.

The 5G-VINNI project is led by Telenor Group and comprises 23 partners including the EU’s 5G Infrastructure Public Private Partnership (5G-PPP) Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme and is aims to accelerate the uptake of 5G in Europe. Among key 5G-VINNI objectives are to design 5G end-to-end facility and interworking sites, to provide user friendly orchestration and to develop a viable business model to demonstrate the value of 5G solutions and enable their widespread adoption.

SES will provide satellite services for the project in order to enable 5G demonstrations and validation of the target 5G key performance indicators and use cases such as media and entertainment. This will include satellite-enabled capabilities to allow demonstration of 5G use cases and access to a testbed facility used for other 5G projects. Additionally, in collaboration with the mobile industry partners, SES will continue to contribute to standardisation efforts aimed at supporting seamless satellite integration into the 5G ecosystem.

The 5G-VINNI project will be based on the latest 5G technologies, including the output from 5G-PPP initiatives such as the SaT5G project, in which SES is a key partner.

“It’s exciting to see the momentum that the 5G ecosystem has developed in recent months, with growing recognition of the value of satellite in accelerating the rollout of 5G,” said John-Paul Hemingway, CEO at SES Networks. “5G-VINNI is an excellent example of how industries can come together to develop scalable 5G use cases for key verticals. We are leveraging network intelligence across MEO and geostationary satellite-enabled services to deliver end-to-end solutions that bring technical flexibility, dramatically increased throughput, and cost efficiency to the delivery of 5G services in the cloud-scale era.”