Airtel Showcases Exciting Future Of Immersive Video Entertainment On 5G In Indian Market

* Recreates in-stadia experience of Kapil Dev’s legendary 175 run innings from the 1983 Cricket World Cup, that was missing till now, with immersive video technology over its 5G network 

* Demonstrates India’s first LIVE 5G powered hologram, as Kapil Dev’s virtual avatar interacts with fans in real-time from a remote location   

Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), India’s premier communications solutions provider, today showcased 5G’s high-speed, low latency capabilities to transform the future of video entertainment and take the user experience to the next level. 

Using cutting edge immersive video technologies over its high speed 5G test network, Airtel recreated the in-stadia experience of Kapil Dev’s famous 175 not out vs Zimbabwe, during the 1983 Cricket World Cup. A special 175 Replayed video, in 4K mode, brought to key moments from the match to life, which had no video footage due to a strike by TV technicians.

With speeds of over 1 Gbps and latency of under 20 ms, more than 50 concurrent users enjoyed a highly personalized 4K video experience of the match on 5G smartphones, with real-time access to multiple camera angles, 360-degree in-stadia view, shot analysis and stats.

The session was made even more exciting with India’s first 5G powered hologram interaction with Kapil Dev. The Airtel 5G powered virtual avatar of the legendary cricketer appeared on the stage, to interact with the fans in real-time and walk them through the key moments of his innings.     

Randeep Sekhon, CTO, Bharti Airtel: “The gigabit speeds and millisecond latency of 5G will transform the way we consume entertainment. With today’s demonstration, we have only scratched the surface of the infinite possibilities of 5G and highly personalized immersive experiences in the digital world. With 5G based holograms, we will be able to transport virtual avatars to any location and this will be a game changer for meetings and conferences, LIVE news and will have so many other use cases. Airtel is fully prepared for 5G in this emerging digital world and is building a solid pipeline of innovative use cases for India. We also take this opportunity to thank the Department of Telecom for giving us the trial spectrum, to validate our technology and use cases.” 

Describing his experience, Kapil Dev added: “I am simply amazed by the power of 5G technology and seeing my digital avatar interact with my fans as if I am actually there. Thank you Airtel for this wonderful effort and bringing to life one of the most important innings of my career.” 

Airtel conducted the demonstration at its Network Experience Center in Manesar (Gurugram) using Ericsson 5G Radio in NSA and SA modes over 3500 MHz band test spectrum allotted by the Department of Telecom, Government of India. 

Airtel is spearheading 5G in India. Earlier this year Airtel demonstrated India’s first 5G experience over a live 4G network. It also demonstrated India’s first rural 5G trial as well as the first cloud gaming experience on 5G. As part of #5GforBusiness, Airtel has joined forces with leading global consulting and technology companies and brands to test 5G based solutions.

About Airtel

Headquartered in India, Airtel is a global communications solutions provider with over 480 Mn customers in 16 countries across South Asia and Africa. The company ranks amongst the top three mobile operators globally and its networks cover over two billion people. Airtel is India’s largest integrated communications solutions provider and the second largest mobile operator in Africa. Airtel’s retail portfolio includes high speed 4G/4.5G mobile broadband, Airtel Xstream Fiber that promises speeds up to 1 Gbps with convergence across linear and on-demand entertainment, streaming services spanning music and video, digital payments and financial services. For enterprise customers, Airtel offers a gamut of solutions that includes secure connectivity, cloud and data centre services, cyber security, IoT, Ad Tech and cloud based communication. For more details visit www.airtel.com