A shopping center in Helsinki became a public testbed for 5G, when Telia allowed the audience at an esports event to try out gaming over a 5G network with professional gamers and popular tubers.

publive-image

Telia brought a live 5G connection to the Finnish people at an esports event at the Kamppi shopping center in Helsinki. The event, Telia and Republic of Gamers 5G Challenge, featured a gaming stage, where the audience could challenge top names like Robin ”Snappe” Uotila, a pro gamer in the ENCE team, and popular tubers Scouppi and Roponen, to a game of Overwatch over a 5G connection.

“Trials in lab environment have proved that 5G opens enormous new opportunities in the world of competitive gaming. We want to illustrate the possibilities of 5G through practical examples, and therefore we wanted to take this new technology out for the public to try. Esports is a challenging area for technology, but we believe 5G will offer a superefficient access alternative for gamers,” says Janne Koistinen, 5G Program Director for Telia in Finland.

Fast-growing business

For Telia, esports is a new, growing business area, where fast network connections and top quality equipment are in demand.
”Esports is growing fast; more and more Finns engage in recreational gaming and the best players compete in global arenas for million dollar prizes. We want to take esports further and participate in building a responsible gaming culture that excites both the younger and the older generations of gamers,” says Mikko Kaarttinen, Telia esports team.

The event in Kamppi was the first time the public got to try a 5G connection in an everyday environment. The 5G trial was conducted with a Nokia test base station operating on the higher, 28 GHz 5G frequency area, which is expected to open revolutionary new opportunities for services in mobile networks.