KT to roll out 5G UHD live broadcasting

KT will roll out its 5G-based UHD live broadcasting service in South Korea on Tuesday, the telco announced.

The telco will provide an enterprise 5G network and 5G mobile news gathering (MNG) equipment to news broadcaster Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) for the live broadcast of its Morning Wide news program on Tuesday morning.

MNG technology allows broadcasting cameras to transfer video files via wireless networks.

Currently, broadcasters use MNG equipment that needs five to 11 units of LTE MNG equipment attached to the cameras and requires multiple Universal Subscriber Identity Modules (USIMs) for filming in areas that cannot be reached by outdoor broadcasting vans in certain areas. Video filmed onsite is usually split and can only be transferred through LTE networks that are available to headquarters. As a result, the use of multiple networks sometimes cause delays during live broadcasts, KT said.

Meanwhile, KT's 5G MNG equipment only requires one unit and one USIM, and uses its 5G enterprise network to allow for the seamless broadcasting of UHD quality videos, the telco said.

KT completed technical verification for the 5G-based UHD video transfer technology on January 23 and completed testing for its 5G enterprise services of UHD live broadcasting on March 6.

Last week, the telco signed cooperation agreements with TVU Networks Corporation and LiveU Ltd for its 5G video transmissions.

Some 5G enterprise services have already been deployed since testing began in December, but South Korea's 5G roll out for consumers -- which was originally planned to roll out this month -- has faced delays.

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