Arguably the greatest innings ever played in an one-day international, Kapil Dev's tour de force 175 not out against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup, has no video footage --- thanks to a strike by the broadcaster BBC's technicians.
Though the innings can never be reproduced, some of the in-stadia experience can be re-imagined, thanks to evolving technology. And that is what Bharti Airtel attempted yesterday. Using immersive video technologies over its high speed 5G test network, Airtel recreated the attendant atmosphere of Kapil Dev’s famous innings. A special 175 replayed video, in 4K mode, brought key moments from the match to life.
Airtel undertook this effort to showcase its 5G high-speed, low latency capabilities that are expected to drive the future of video entertainment. Airtel put to use telecom department trial 5G spectrum for this demonstration.
Kapil Dev's hologram on screen
"With speeds of over 1 Gbps and latency of under 20 ms, more than 50 concurrent users enjoyed a highly personalized 4K video experience of the match on 5G smartphones, with real-time access to multiple camera angles, 360-degree in-stadia view, shot analysis and stats," Airtel said in a statement.
The telecom company also came up with India’s first 5G powered hologram interaction with Kapil Dev. The Airtel 5G powered virtual avatar of the legendary cricketer appeared on the stage, to interact with the fans in real-time and walk them through the key moments of his innings.
Randeep Sekhon, CTO, Bharti Airtel: "The gigabit speeds and millisecond latency of 5G will transform the way we consume entertainment. With today’s demonstration, we have only scratched the surface of the infinite possibilities of 5G and highly personalized immersive experiences in the digital world."
Airtel says that with 5G based holograms, users will be able to transport virtual avatars to any location and this will be a game changer for meetings and conferences, Live news and will have so many other use cases.
Kapil Dev, for his part, said: "I am simply amazed by the power of 5G technology and seeing my digital avatar interact with my fans as if I am actually there."
5G in India
Airtel conducted the demonstration at its Network Experience Center in Manesar (Gurugram) using Ericsson 5G Radio in NSA and SA modes over 3500 MHz band test spectrum allotted by the government.
For the record, work relating to the 5G rollout in India, which is expected to happen later this year, is picking up pace both from the government side as well as from the private telecom companies'.
The much-expected 5G spectrum auction is likely to happen sometime before June, and the deployment of 5G services at the consumer level in 13 chosen cities in the country is expected in the latter half of the year.
Ahead of it, the government is set to install around 8 lakh mobile towers to improve the infrastructure for 5G services.
Airtel, for its part, had earlier demonstrated India’s first 5G experience over a live 4G network. It also demonstrated India’s first rural 5G trial as well as the first cloud gaming experience on 5G. As part of #5GforBusiness, Airtel has joined forces with leading global consulting and technology companies and brands to test 5G based solutions.
