The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the world’s leading alliance of public service media, has awarded RTVE for their advances in 5G with the prestigious “Technology & Innovation Award”, with which recognizes, encourages and supports outstanding technical solutions developed by the organizations that are part of the Union.
With a candidacy called “RTVE – 5G and beyond”, the Corporation has been recognized for its numerous advances in this field and for the effort made over the years innovating and exploring the possibilities for the media of this new generation of mobile networks, a progress that provides more bandwidth, less latency, more security and less energy consumption and which, both for the European Union and for the Government of Spain, is fundamental in the digital transition and in the technological investments.
Innovation on RTVE
At RTVE we use 5G and all its advantages to carry out live broadcasts of Vanguard, new narratives and seek new opportunities.
From the first live broadcast in “pure” 5G in the world, in 2019, to the last great coverage that we have carried out in 2022, such as the recent reopening of the Territorial Center in Castilla-La Mancha at the beginning of last April, they have There have been many advances, milestones and lessons learned and shared that were obtained from a few failures and many successes.
we already know and we are able to regularly do direct for our conventional channels (linear) or digital and an entire infrastructure has been created for it; to use something as advanced as edge computing; from having one or several small cells to have a “private 5G network”, even in rural environments and not as connected as urban areas; to integrate the new 5G “backpacks” or devices so common in our lives such as smartphones into workflows; to explore the capabilities, so positive for the media, of network slicing; to operate with specific APPs for mobile phones and computers in conventional 5G networks…
Also we usually work with virtual production systems in the cloud to mix remotely or locally (as required). Thanks to them, the broadcast can be distributed simultaneously, live and in the appropriate formats, through all RTVE platforms: we send the signal to a decoder for linear TV, via RTMP for video streaming on our website/YouTube and directly to different social networks.
We have integrated pre-loaded graphics, intercom or videos into the system, as pieces, and in the latest broadcasts we added live narration of the event with our journalists and interviews at different points, among other issues.
The present and future possibilities
5G, like other new technologies such as AI or the “cloud”, will define how we will work with the media in the coming years. At RTVE we have gone from theory to reality and we have seen what can be done and how we can use it to improve our activity.
We take advantage of it and explore it to the maximum for its possibilities and for all the technologies and tools available to make more and better coverages, that they can be simpler, more agile and more sustainable.
By versatility of being able to use different devices and the cloud to mix and distribute remotely or locally and make it possible to adapt, scale and replace resources as needed. by power reach different channels linear and digital simultaneously and in their specific formats. By be where things happen, with forecast or in emergency situations such as breaking news, having 5G connectivity or any other type (4G, WiFI…), being able to carry out live programs with all kinds of capture devices. By use advances such as network slicing, a great benefit for the media by ensuring, even in crowded areas, the availability and service of the network… or because having a portable small-cell will guarantee a high level of mobility and new opportunities to plan and execute 5G deployments, especially live, where possible and needed. By know how to continue offering public information service even in the most difficult situations or when conventional systems suffer some mishap, such as being isolated and without batteries. By close gaps by being able to be in more places and give voice to more people and events. For working with the latest technologies and demonstrating to society that we are avant-garde and innovative public companies, making 100% self-produced projects a reality in which we know and can do new things.
Until this recognition of EBU we have traveled a brief but intense path, in which it has been essential, for to be technological pioneers worldwide, the joint work of different professionals and areas of the Corporation, among which are Technological Strategy, Innovation, Radio 3, News, San Cugat or Territorial Centers, with special mention for Castilla-La Mancha, a benchmark and technological spearhead of the corporation.
Thus, the work of multidisciplinary teams and the existing professional and technical capacity in the territorial centers and in the whole of RTVE, something we are proud of. And at this point there is still a long way to go and we remain open to collaborating with other companies and public and private institutions because together… we can go further.