Vertical: Sports
Application: Faster throughput, lower latency
Ecosystem: Ericsson, Vodafone Ireland
Private Network: 5G
The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) has deployed a private 5G wireless network at their High Performance Center with the aid of Ericsson and Vodafone Ireland.
The new network is taking the place of the existing Wi-Fi network and will provide real-time video analytics to improve communications and decision making with coaches and players. Multiple high-resolution cameras and a connected drone will supply video which will be analyzed in real-time to improve team performance.
“So much of our roles revolve around moving large quantities of data so we can analyse performance to understand what is working and what is not. Vodafone’s 5G MPN stretches the boundaries of what we can do in terms of how quickly we can analyse multiple high-resolution cameras and drone footage which ultimately informs our strategic decision making,” said Vinny Hammond, IRFU Head of Analytics and Innovation.
The network will travel to France in a connected vehicle for the September 2023 Rugby World Cup.
“This 5G MPN [mobile private network], drone and additional technology will support Vinny Hammond and his analytics team to quickly breakdown and organize unstructured data and present it back in a clear manner to other coaching staff and management – helping them understand the performance of the plays and overall team, without delay,” said Shelia Kavanagh, Vodafone Ireland Network Director.