A new survey suggests that broadcasters around the world are expecting 5G to transform the way we make and consume media, though many aren’t yet prepared for it.
The global survey, which was conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Norwegian communications equipment company Nevion, found that 94% of broadcasters thought that their country had the necessary infrastructure to adopt 5G.
A third (39%) of respondents said that their own organisation would be ready to adopt 5G within a year, while more than half (53%) claimed that they would be able to do so some time during the following year.
The survey also revealed how broadcasters are likely to utilise 5G in the near term. 61% of respondents said that they would consider using 5G as a distribution method and a potential replacement for traditional DTT, satellite or cable methods. Roughly two thirds (65%) said that they would consider adopting 5G for remote production. Meanwhile a large proportion (42%) thought that 5G’s biggest role would be to provide a cost-effective back-up for contribution links.
Despite signs of willingness to adopt 5G into their production workflow, though, it seems that a good proportion of the responding broadcasters aren’t properly prepared to do so. Only 46% said that their organisation had conducted any 5G tests.
Andy Rayner, Chief Technologist, Nevion, said: “It’s positive that broadcasters are expecting to move forward at pace with 5G. However, there is still a lot of work to be done before it can be implemented into live environments, and given the current climate worldwide, testing and developments may have slowed down. Over the next year or so, it will be a case of broadcasters looking in earnest at the potential of 5G in the value chain and testing the technology’s capabilities within their organizations – something over half of broadcasters are yet to do.”
While broadcasters might be dragging their feet a little on 5G implementation, there’s good news for consumers. More than a third (34%) of the broadcasters quizzed expressed their opinion that the biggest beneficiary of 5G would be the viewer.
5G’s vastly superior download speeds and low latency will enable much faster streaming of higher quality video content with minimal to no buffering. It’s this improved viewer experience that many broadcasters have in mind when they consider their 5G strategy.
BBC made the UK’s first live broadcast over a public 5G network
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Jon has nine years experience of writing and editing copy for leading publications, as well as attending technology shows and events and conducting interviews. Currently working with 5G.co.uk, TechRadar, Trusted Reviews, T3, Digital Spy, What Mobile, Pocket Gamer, and The Gadget Show.
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