By Damien Muir, senior sales manager, Neutral Wireless.
For any production environment that relies on wireless connectivity, there’s simply no show without spectrum. Whether that’s traditional RF camera links, operator intercom, wireless microphones, WiFi, or whatever else; quick and reliable access to spectrum licences is essential for event coverage.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking of available Programme-Making and Special Events (PMSE) spectrum as a constant. But those who follow the regulatory landscape know that it’s a fight not just to retain that spectrum, but to scrap for that little bit more to meet industry demand and expectation for new or improved services.
Private 5G for live production environments
Countries such as the UK, France and Denmark are already using mid-band 5G spectrum (usually the 3800-4200MHz range) to support live event production over Private 5G (P5G) networks. Initially, this was used for large productions where the additional spectrum and enhanced capabilities would obviously be needed — such as royal coronations, Olympic events, stadiums, festivals, or general elections. But more recently the technology has made its way into smaller productions too.
Filming mobile-first
The International Island Games, held in Orkney in July 2025, was a great example of a lower-cost, multi-camera production facilitated by P5G. Using portable networks deployed on tricycles, live HD feeds from the triathlon, golf and athletics competitions were captured by off-the-shelf devices, such as Samsung or Apple handsets, and a programme feed live streamed to YouTube.
Production workflows using P5G with smartphones are a proven solution for live event coverage. This was demonstrated by Olympic Broadcasting Services and Orange Events as part of Paris 2024, where parts of the Opening Ceremony and sailing events were covered using Samsung devices as flexible, lightweight camera platforms.
While you could cover an event using only smartphones, just knowing that these devices can easily be incorporated to augment existing workflows is undeniably exciting! Suddenly, you can add multiple simultaneous supplementary wireless feeds to a production, as well as opening up options for wireless intercom and site connectivity.
The ‘how’ changes the ‘what’
People react very differently in the moment to unobtrusive smartphone cameras, compared to being in front of imposing TV cameras, allowing operators to capture genuine emotion and entirely new forms of content. This was experienced first-hand at Henley Music Festival, where smartphone-based production allowed for authentic footage capturing the atmosphere of the festival across the site.
The live mobile-first feeds are delivered from within the action. These can really capture the spirit of a sport, celebration, festival, or parade – rather than sanitised made-for-TV clips. This kind of content is more familiar, and desirable, to younger audiences who are increasingly consuming online content at higher rates than traditional linear broadcasts.
Spectrum licensing across Europe
One of the biggest barriers to more P5G adoption within the production sector has been spectrum licensing. While the 3800-4200MHz range might be available in the UK or France, what about elsewhere in Europe?
Countries such as Poland or Switzerland have opened up different bands for P5G use, for instance n78 (3300-3800MHz) or n40 (2300-2400MHz). Does that frequency change mean you need different hardware for use in different countries? Unfortunately, the answer was probably yes. But recent developments between CEPT (the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations) and the Electronics Communication Committee mean that won’t be the case for much longer.
In the coming years, shared use of the n77 (3800-4200MHz) frequency band will be harmonised across Europe, with various recommendations to ease the path to adoption by national regulators. While the full band might not become available everywhere, it will allow for the same P5G hardware to be used across Europe. This will remove a great deal of uncertainty around a relatively ‘new’ technology and allow for more confident investment in equipment.
New spectrum licencing in the UK
In July 2025, UK regulator Ofcom published a consultation that outlines allocating a portion of 2300MHz spectrum for short-duration licences, and explicitly called out live production applications. Crucially, this would feature a PMSE-friendly licence turnaround time of around three days, removing another oft-touted barrier to entry for P5G adoption.
It can’t be understated how much of a game-changer this will be for the UK production industry. It effectively unlocks an entire technology to the market that, until now, has struggled to align regulatory timescales with production schedules. This is a boon to production companies, who can begin to offer and benefit from P5G workflows, and also to equipment providers, who have new options for their portfolios.
This new UK licensing scheme and EU spectrum harmonisation means that, going into 2026, P5G will no longer be a technology limited for producing huge events with long planning schedules.
Spectrum in, spectrum out
Unfortunately, there are also upcoming regulatory challenges for PMSE spectrum.
With 6G on the horizon, there is ongoing debate on the future of the 6GHz frequency range and whether it will be used for cellular, WiFi, or a shared approach. The Radio Spectrum Policy Group in Europe is recommending that 540MHz of the 6425-7125MHz range should be allocated to cellular, with the remainder pending future discussion. This will impact use of this frequency range for PMSE, with only 160MHz left to be shared among other users.
The future of the 470-694MHz band is also under discussion, though a formal decision on this may be reserved until towards 2030. As the 617-698MHz range has already been auctioned in the US, it is likely that some portion of UHF will also be allocated to cellular in Europe in the near future. This will further impact the availability of spectrum for PMSE applications.
The future of live production?
With debate around the indirect future of PMSE frequencies ongoing, it is clear there are upcoming challenges for the production community. Continuing reduction in available PMSE spectrum means that, inevitably, production must start to either reduce service offerings at an event or look to offload some applications to alternative technologies and spectrum ranges.
As the broadcast industry generally moves towards IP-based workflows, the IP-native P5G technology is particularly attractive; especially as spectrum licensing mechanisms are becoming compatible with production schedules.
What does this mean in the short term? There should be serious consideration to transition to or adopt P5G workflows. Both to benefit from the enhanced capabilities and features right now, and to future-proof against regulation change.
