the 2019/20 Bundesliga season in Germany, the Deutsche Fußball Liga and Vodafone entered a two-year partnership with the aim of making the new 5G mobile communications standard accessible to stadium visitors. To demonstrate the potential of the technology, the partners also developed an augmented reality app. And VfL Wolfsburg’s Volkswagen Arena was the first stadium in Germany to be equipped with a 5G mobile antenna from Vodafone. The 5G technology increased the available network capacity in the stadium by more than 60%. Where is 5G being used? While the Premier League in England is still slightly behind in cellular broadcast, it has begun to be implemented in stadiums, with Chelsea FC’s Stamford Bridge the first. The stadium now provides 5G coverage to Three customers, which means fans will be able to access a seamless and connected experience on a home matchday. A perhaps unlikely source in the English Football League that’s also utilising 5G technology is Millwall FC. This year, the club is launching Millwall Mobile, which will be powered by the UK’s fastest 5G network – Three – with 99.9% UK coverage. This unique partnership will allow fans to support Millwall directly with their mobile plans, as a portion of the subscription fees goes back to the club. In the US, T-Mobile has been deploying and expanding its industry- leading 5G coverage across the country at Major League Baseball (MLB) stadiums. So far, the company has rolled out private 5G networks at 28 MLB ballparks, with plans to be in every US ballpark before the end of 2025. T-Mobile‘s 5G network is crucial for the Automated Ball- Strike System, which uses high- speed cameras to track pitches and determine balls and strikes. The system transmits pitch data instantly via 5G-connected devices, enabling umpires, coaches and players to receive real-time feedback and challenge calls. T-Mobile‘s 5G network enhances the overall fan experience with faster and more
Its Media Gateway Platform supports multipath bonding for a wide range of applications beyond traditional backpack solutions. “These include enterprise networking and SD- WAN capabilities that facilitate connectivity between production facilities, remote offices and off-grid locations,” says Emeka Okoli, senior vice president, business development at Zixi. “The platform integrates advanced multipath bonding with a robust, industry-validated dynamic error correction control mechanism along with SMPTE 2022-7-compliant hitless merge on the edge, ensuring maximum availability and resilience for REMI broadcasts, mission-critical communications and tactical drone operations and satellite distribution augmentation. By enabling bonding and load balancing across 5G, LEO connections such as OneWeb and Starlink, and GEO satellites, with both wired and wireless circuits for seamless or sequential failover, the Zixi Platform delivers optimised total cost of ownership and flexible deployment options for diverse 5G and bonding scenarios.” Zixi has worked across the board on a number of events, displaying its commitment to implementing 5G. Its most recent project was the Paris Fashion Week at the prestigious Dior Summer 2026 show, alongside OBE.TV (Open Broadcast Systems) and AWS. Octal, a service provider, managed the VIP Onboard streaming. “For the Dior fashion show in central Paris, we deployed a multi- vehicle streaming solution featuring three cars, each equipped with dual cameras for dynamic coverage throughout the event,” says Xavier Deschuyteneer, owner at Octal. “Our connectivity strategy combined four 5G PoE modems with Starlink satellite connectivity, utilising OBE‘s 5G flyaway kit to ensure consistent performance in the dense urban environment. Each vehicle housed two encoders handling SDI to IP conversion, with dedicated bonding management through Zixi, creating a robust redundancy framework.” This architecture enabled seamless failover capabilities and load distribution across multiple network paths. “The entire workflow
was orchestrated through AWS Media Connect, allowing real- time monitoring and management of all streams from a centralised cloud dashboard,” Deschuyteneer continues. “The modular design provided exceptional scalability – additional vehicles or cameras could be integrated on demand without reconfiguring the entire system. By separating encoding, bonding and connectivity functions across discrete components, we achieved greater operational flexibility and could optimise each element independently. This approach also facilitated the use of broadcast- grade equipment and professional monitoring tools, guaranteeing the premium-quality standards expected for luxury fashion broadcasting while maintaining the agility needed for live event production in challenging urban locations.” Fan-first solutions On top of the aforementioned benefits, 5G seeks to redefine fan engagement. Through real-time streaming, giving fans access to instant replays and multiple camera angles, there are now endless customisable viewing options – all with minimal delay. Likewise, augmented and virtual reality are now being integrated more cohesively, allowing viewers to engage with live statistics, player tracking capabilities and immersive environments from their own devices. Within stadiums, too, enhanced connectivity improves the experience by enabling real-time content access and interactive features through dedicated apps. The technology also supports dynamic camera set-ups, including drones and body cams that have been implemented in numerous sports across the globe. Broadcasters and organisations such as the NFL, BT Sport and NBC are already leveraging 5G to elevate both production efficiency and viewer experience, signalling a major shift in how live sports content is created and consumed. Back in 2018, Vodafone put the first 5G transmission mast into operation at its test site in Aldenhoven near Aachen, Germany. Following this, in
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