Ooredoo Showcases Innovative 5G capabilities during 2019 Emir Cup Final

Ooredoo has confirmed its sponsorship of the much-anticipated 2019 Emir Cup final was a phenomenal success, with examples of yet more elements of its life-changing 5G technology making the experience unforgettable for fans.

Qatar’s telecommunications leader supported the legendary football event, held on Thursday, 16 May 2019, at the newly inaugurated South Stadium, where fans gathered in their thousands to watch one of the most popular sporting events of the year so far.

The Cup final is the culmination of a series of matches pitting the cream of Qatari football teams against one another, and is always a hotly contested event.

This year, Ooredoo’s sponsorship gave fans and spectators a whole new experience and an exciting view into the future with 5G.

Partnering with global network and technology leader Ericsson, the Ooredoo team spent months preparing for the event, and utilised information gained from other major sporting events, such as Superbowl 2019 in the USA and the Football World Cup in Russia, to develop a world-class experience for the South Stadium opening.

With more than 100 experts in the Ooredoo Operation Centre and some 20 in the stadium, the Emir Cup final proved to be an incredibly successful test for Ooredoo on its journey towards 2022.

In order to test as many capabilities of the new developments as possible, the stadium was equipped with the latest mobile technologies, including Elastic Cloud Radio Technology and Antennae with High Order MIMO, to provide the best customer experience.

These mobile technologies enabled Ooredoo to reach data speeds of up to 1.2 Gbps with a 5G handset, with Ericsson’s latest 5G technology.

The Ooredoo network delivered more than 6 TB of mobile traffic – the equivalent of around 1,300 streamed full HD movies or DVDs – with record high set-up success rates in excess of 99.5%.

Spectators in the South Stadium also used the Ooredoo network to make somewhere in the region of 500,000 voice calls, and during the game the Ooredoo team was able to achieve phone speeds of up to 1.2 Gbps. More than 10,000 spectators used the free Wi-Fi in the stadium, using more than 2 TB throughout the game.

Together with Ericsson, Ooredoo not only succeeded in providing groundbreaking performance in the South Stadium; the telco leader also demonstrated the future of 5G with a Virtual Stadium at Mall of Qatar and a 5G Connected Ambulance in the stadium itself. All this was achieved in a very limited timeframe, deploying antennas and installing extensive equipment in the final construction phase of the stadium.

Both the Virtual Stadium and the 5G Connected Ambulance were enabled by Ooredoo’s early 5G network launch, a worldwide first and an ongoing leading light in the journey towards full commercial 5G availability

The Immersive Sports Experience

Ooredoo chose the event to showcase its Virtual Stadium, a brand new Immersive Sports experience making use of Virtual Reality technology at Mall Of Qatar and at the vast, impressive South Stadium.

For fans unable to make it to the South Stadium for the match, there was an Immersive Sports Experience booth at Mall of Qatar, and for fans actually at the stadium and lucky enough to be in the hospitality lounge, another Virtual Stadium Immersive Sports Experience booth offered them the chance to try out the new technology.

The Immersive Sports Experience, developed in partnership with Ericsson, is an exciting combination of Virtual Reality and user engagement and interaction. A number of cameras had been installed around the stadium by Ooredoo, including 360 degree cameras, to capture every corner of the pitch and every second of the footballing action. During the match, fans – utilising the Immersive Sports Experience booths - were effectively able to become directors of their own match broadcast, controlling the angles and camera selections and switching between views at will to completely personalise their match experience and ensure maximum enjoyment.

This entire revolutionary immersive experience – a clear picture of what the future of sports entertainment will be like - was made possible by Ooredoo’s super-fast, ultra-reliable 5G network, as it is the only such network capable of handling the load of such a high number of simultaneous video streams at one time.

The 5G Connected Ambulance

As well, Ooredoo showcased the future of healthcare in Qatar, as a demonstration unit of the 5G Connected Ambulance, fitted with brand new technology also developed in partnership with Ericsson, was on display at the match.

Perfect for sports fixtures as well as any other type of medical emergency, the new state-of-the-art Ericsson IMS technology enables doctors anywhere across the world to treat patients remotely here in Qatar via the ambulance attending the medical situation, thanks to the use of Ooredoo’s groundbreaking 5G networks.

Paramedics will use the ambulances to attend medical emergencies as they do now, but – with the new technology – they will then be able to assess the patient using a special haptic glove that is controlled by the doctor remotely using a specially designed joystick. Ooredoo’s 5G networks will enable information gathered to be sent to the doctor, wherever they are, so they can then offer diagnosis and treatment advice without the patient ever coming into physical contact with the doctor.

In situations where time is of the essence – such as the Emir Cup final, where an injured player needs to be back on the pitch as quickly as possible – this new technology will revolutionise the way ambulances and medical staff can attend to medical emergencies in Qatar.

Commitment to New Technology and Experiences

Speaking of the new technology and experiences, Waleed Al Sayed – Chief Executive Officer at Ooredoo – said: “First, I’d like to congratulate our beloved country and its wise leadership on the successful inauguration of the South Stadium. We’re all very proud of this amazing achievement ahead of 2022. As always, we’re completely committed to bringing our customers the latest technology with all our products and services, and finding ways to improve their digital lives. The Emir Cup was the ideal opportunity for us to showcase yet more ways our groundbreaking 5G network will transform lives, whether in medical care or in sports enjoyment, and the ideal opportunity for us to show exactly what our 5G network is capable of. 5G will revolutionise many aspects of our lives in the very near future, and we’re immensely proud to be at the forefront of the 5G revolution.”