When King Charles and Queen Camilla were crowned in May, it may have seemed like a strange relic from the distant past – the ceremony’s origins trace back nearly a thousand years to William the Conqueror in 1066. But behind the scenes, something much more futuristic was taking place.
Just outside Westminster Abbey, ITN’s news cameras were rolling, capturing footage that would be broadcast live on ITV News’ special coverage. For several of the key shots, instead of relying on a satellite truck, the cameras were beaming back their images using Vodafone’s “standalone” 5G network, on its own dedicated network “slice” of protected bandwidth, in the highest-profile test yet of the technology.
5G standalone – or “5G SA” – is arguably 5G in its true form. It’s only this version of the technology that makes possible many of the original promises of 5G, such as lower latency and more reliable connections for industrial and professional use-cases.
