Broadcasters call for programmable 5G connectivity

The group, which includes BBC, France Télévisions, Haivision, Neutral Wireless, GSMA Fusion, Amarisoft, AW2S, RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana, and Sony, hopes for this updated system to secure the connectivity required for resilient, ultra-low-latency operations. 

In a new Statement of Requirement issued with support from the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC), the group highlights that broadcasters require user-accessible control of network performance to adopt 5G in broadcasting.

Citing the technology’s wide range of market applications, the statement reads: “There is no one-size-fits-all or ‘cookie-cutter’ template to address these disparate opportunities – some require high uplink bandwidth or support for many thousands of devices, while others require ultra-low latency… Without user control of QoS [quality of service] among their network devices or workflows, there will remain a barrier to adoption of 5G as the preferred deployment technology.”

The collaboration is urging mobile network operators (MNOs) and ecosystem players to “drive development and exposure on industry-standardised APIs, including QoD as certified and released by CAMARA”. This standardisation is expected to unlock new live production and enable widespread adoption by MNOs, enterprises, channel partners, system integrators, and vendors.

To maximise interoperability and impact across vendors, networks, and industries, the statement hopes for these APIs to be provided by as many MNOs and private network providers as possible. Specifically, the Statement of Requirement encourages MNOs to prioritise availability in the UK (Q4 2026), Italy (Q1 2027), and France (Q2 2027), followed by the Netherlands (Q3 2027) and the USA (Q3 2028).

With partner support, the group expects to begin pilots and demonstrations within six months of go-live dates, with a planned showcase at IBC2026. The IBC Accelerator project, led by Neutral Wireless, GSMA Fusion, and BBC Technology Operations, will focus on implementing open network APIs for dynamic network control during live broadcasts. 

To explain the importance of this new order, the group explored the challenges of the current system. At the moment, wireless broadcast production relies on three link types: contribution links (remote, low-bitrate, high-latency); supplementary links (medium quality and latency); and production links (local, high bitrate, and ultra-low latency). 

According to the group, the public 4G and 5G networks currently used by a large number of contribution links can lead to higher latency, reduced video quality, and inconsistent performance for live feeds when congested in high-demand environments. Therefore, broadcasters are adopting more demanding 5G standalone workflows, alongside other “stacked” use cases on the same infrastructure, and require the ability to prioritise key devices and data flows on demand.

The lack of incentive and ease to scale the proprietary solutions that do exist reportedly means that MNOs are less likely to develop bespoke APIs for third parties, while broadcast hardware vendors cannot support multiple proprietary implementations with differing behaviour. As a result, the group asserts that standardised APIs are essential to break this impasse. 

Jamie Trinh, Media and Entertainment Development Lead at GSMA Fusion, said: “The development and implementation of standardised network APIs, with full interoperability and cross-market coverage, gives the broadcast production industry the tools needed to meet evolving customer demands. By making network performance predictable and controllable on demand, broadcasters can design innovative live production solutions that respond in real-time to users, whether that’s multi-camera workflows, interactive content or low-latency feeds. At the same time, this represents a significant opportunity for mobile operators to realise the value of their 5G infrastructure across markets.”  

Sam Yoffe, Senior Systems Engineer at Neutral Wireless, added: “Private networks and public network slicing can provide dedicated resources in high-demand environments, but are still potentially resource-constrained and could become oversubscribed, resulting in packet loss and feeds that are unusable when needed. Reliability of wireless connectivity is a key concern inhibiting the adoption of 5G technologies for live production, and the addition of QoD to dynamically control resource priority would represent a significant step towards protecting critical feeds and ensuring resilience. Whether that be on private or public networks, an open approach will be essential to encourage the development of interoperable vendor solutions and drive adoption.” 

James McKeown recently spoke to Matt Stagg, Strategy and Partnerships Lead at Neutral Wireless, and Dan Pisarski, Chief Technical Officer (CTO) at LiveU, to find out what’s behind the rising popularity of private 5G in live production. Discover more here.