Technology is playing an increasingly vital role in professional football. Video recordings help VAR officials make more accurate decisions and enrich in-depth analysis on sports talk shows. Now, Vodafone Business is taking video technology to the next level with a pilot that offers a fully personalized viewing experience. By leveraging its 5G network and network slicing, Vodafone Business ensures the speed and stability needed to deliver a seamless and immersive way for football fans to watch live matches.
Take control of how you watch the game
At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Vodafone Business and Liberty Global and showcased an innovative, still-developing technology that uses multiple cameras to capture volumetric video. This allows viewers to choose exactly how they experience a match - adjusting the camera angle, focusing on specific players, and personalizing their perspective, whether on a mobile device or smart TV.
Co-developed with Philips IP & Standards, this technology puts fans in the director’s chair. Spot a spectacular play? Pause the action, rotate the scene on your phone - just like in The Matrix - or use an XR headset to step into the moment and view it from all angles. You can even remove players who are blocking your view. This breakthrough not only transforms the way fans experience football but also has potential applications for training, performance tracking, and health analysis. This year marks the first steps toward bringing this technology to sports enthusiasts.
Seamless and fast processing with 5G
With Vodafone Business’s 5G network, 3D video recordings are stored in the cloud. Thanks to network slicing, a dedicated portion of network capacity is reserved, ensuring data is processed quickly and without interruptions. This allows football fans to adjust their viewing experience in real time, deciding exactly what they see during a live match.
Mark Willems, Technology Strategy Manager at Vodafone Business, explains:
"It’s exciting to see how 5G is enabling real innovation. Network slicing not only provides a faster and more reliable connection, but it also makes cutting-edge applications like this possible, truly bringing the technology to life. At Vodafone Business, we’re committed to pushing technological boundaries, especially in areas like sports, where it enhances both the fan experience and player performance. But the impact of a reliable connection extends far beyond football—think of applications like remotely operated vehicles or high-end teleconferencing."
Vodafone Business and Liberty Global, in collaboration with Philips IP & Standards, aims to further develop this technology. In the coming years, they plan to take the next steps with a commercial partner to make it widely available to the public.