Telia, TV2 Denmark and BB&S Align to Enable 5G-Connected Lighting

Telia together with TV2 Denmark and lightning company BB&S have teamed up to switch on 5G-connected lamps in tv and filmmaking, a simple solution that might transform the broadcasting industry.

5G’s high speed, high quality and lower latency combined with always-on connectivity hold a host of new possibilities for every industry.

In this use case, Telia in Denmark worked closely together with TV2 and leading lightning company BB&S to test how the use of 5G can improve lightning set up and cost efficiency in broadcasting.

“We have looked at the potential business value 5G can bring to our customers and the industries they operate in and found that it has the potential to substantially impact content distribution and content production,” says Claus Berthou Madsen, 5G Program Lead, Telia in Denmark.

BB&S provides lighting set ups to Hollywood productions and tv studios all over the world. More than 100 lamps are used in studio lightning, and every lamp is connected with a power cable and a control cable.

Together with TV2 and Telia, they successfully tested a lightning set up using only one lamp and 5G-connectivity to control lightning and all lamps wirelessly. The simple set up will significantly save on costs as well as provide real time performance data from each lamp to optimize the lighting. It will also be possible to remote control the lighting from the office in Copenhagen instead of being on set in Hollywood.

“This will give broadcasters new opportunities over a 4G world where delay of signal and the data capacity scarcity is a reality,” says Morten Brandstrup, Head of News technology at TV2. “With 5G, broadcasters will be able to have people at multiple locations in a live interview setup and they will be able to produce large live events without the traditional production truck at the location of the event”.