Nokia, in collaboration with TPG Telecom and MediaTek, showcased a live 360-degree video broadcast on the future of the metaverse, enabled by Nokia’s 5G uplink carrier aggregation (CA) technology, TPG Telecom’s commercial 5G network and MediaTek’s 5G mobile chipset technology. The demonstration highlighted how CA technology can enhance the experience of watching TV, movies and sports, and took place at Nokia’s 5G Futures Lab, Sydney, Australia.
By combining two or more sub-6 GHz frequency bands, Nokia’s CA technology delivers optimised 5G uplink speeds, enabling real-time transmission of high-quality 360-degree video. The demo utilised solutions from Nokia’s energy-efficient AirScale portfolio including baseband, massive MIMO (massive multiple-input multiple-output), and remote radio head products, powered by its ReefShark chipset.
MediaTek provided its 5G mobile platform using the MediaTek M80 5G modem, which has been incorporated into the Dimensity SoC (system on chip) series. The demo used the combination of a 15 MHz carrier on the 700 MHz band (n28) and a 90 MHz carrier on the 3.6 GHz band (n78) using uplink carrier aggregation technology to achieve a peak uplink throughput of 159 Mbps.
During the demonstration, Leslie Shannon, Nokia’s head of trend and innovation scouting gave a talk about the future of the metaverse. The talk covered how 360-degree video livestreamed over 5G is a key component of some industrial metaverse experiences, allowing workers, for example, to view a remote location through a VR (virtual reality) headset while remotely controlling a robot in that location doing a potentially dangerous job, such as handling explosives.
According to ‘The metaverse at work’ study, a 96% of respondents recognise the industrial metaverse’s potential to mix physical and virtual use cases. They believe that the metaverse will bring additional ‘innovative’ capabilities, allowing them to accelerate the deployment, adoption and monetisation of Industry 4.0 for their businesses.
David Yeo, general manager of wireless access networks at TPG Telecom, says “This is a great demonstration of the immersive and innovative capability that TPG Telecom’s cutting-edge 5G network can deliver to consumers and businesses alike. We look forward to future collaborations with Nokia and MediaTek as we work together to unlock a new world of content and possibilities for our customers.”
Andrew Cope, head of oceania at Nokia, says “Collaborating with TPG Telecom and MediaTek on this exciting project showcases a key building block of the metaverse: 360-degree video streaming. Powered by Nokia’s two component carrier 5G uplink carrier aggregation technology, this breakthrough technology is vital for the immersive future needed to take industrial digitalisation to the next level. We are proud to feature Leslie Shannon, Nokia’s head of trend and innovation scouting and author of ‘Interconnected Realities’, as the subject of this broadcast, highlighting the importance of 5G 2CC in realising the transformative potential of the metaverse.”
HC Hwang, general manager of wireless communication system and partnerships at MediaTek, says “The 360-degree video broadcasting demonstrates the diverse capabilities of MediaTek’s industry-leading M80 5G modem. Our collaboration with Nokia has shown the clear benefits of another real-world application utilising essential 5G technologies like uplink carrier aggregation. We are enabling our vision is to grow the 5G ecosystem through continuously enhancing 5G capacity and performance with features that add value to consumers of smartphones and mobile broadband 5G devices.”
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