Ericsson tests LTE Broadcast during volleyball championship game

Ericsson and Polish telecom operator Polkomtel successfully carried out the first test of LTE Broadcast technology in Poland on August 30, streaming the opening game of the 2014 World Volleyball Championship between Poland and Serbia to 300 selected guests and journalists at Warsaw’s National Stadium.

The test group was provided with 300 LTE Broadcast-enabled mobile devices with a pre-configured application to watch live streaming of the game. The whole event lasted for about four hours and the trial is said to have been well-received by the test group.

Ericsson’s LTE Broadcast solution enables new revenue models for premium content and efficiently utilises LTE spectrum and network resources. Content can be delivered simultaneously to a virtually unlimited number of subscribers; for example, multiple video feeds showing different angles, close-ups or replays during live events.

Tobias Solorz, president of the management board of Polkomtel Sp. z o.o., says: “Our previous experience of working together with Ericsson and the relationship we have built up over the years has been key to the success of this test. We are very pleased with the outcome and look forward to a thorough evaluation of the results. This successful test opens up the possibility of providing high-quality streams of sporting events and other programming to our subscribers, and we hope to offer this kind of service all over Poland in due course.”

Valter D’Avino, head of Ericsson’s Region Western and Central Europe, says: “Ericsson has been at the forefront of developing and implementing this technology around the world, and it has great potential to grow much further with a wide range of use cases: for example, to send updates and content to connected cars, digital signage or billing boards, as well as public safety and emergency broadcast services.”