SailGP to leverage T-Mobile’s 5G Network to elevate fan experience
August 31, 2023
SailGP has announced an expanded collaboration with T-Mobile for Business for Seasons 4 and 5 spanning 2023 through 2025.
SailGP will leverage a 5G Hybrid Mobile Network from T-Mobile’s 5G Advanced Network Solutions (5G ANS) portfolio to further elevate fan experience with innovative, immersive views of live race action and provide SailGP athletes advanced on-water performance analysis.
For fans, T-Mobile’s 5G Advanced Network Solutions technology is now powering new action cameras mounted on SailGP’s 10 F50s — 50-foot flying catamarans that race at speeds upwards of 60 mph — that provide live POV broadcast feeds to help bring fans into the on-board action from the athlete’s point of view.
Here’s how it works: all SailGP’s F50s are now 5G-connected and feature POV cameras that are used to stream live, high-definition video from each F50 to SailGP’s London broadcast studio. These wireless cameras are embedded with 5G modules making them ideal for mounting where needed on the F50s, and can utilize AI to track athlete movement, ensuring that every moment of action is captured.
“We’re constantly pushing the boundaries of what 5G can do for consumers and businesses,” said Callie Field, president, T-Mobile Business Group. “Delivering fast and reliable analytics along with immersive viewing experiences in a tough offshore environment is a literal game changer.”
5G is also enabling another breakthrough for athletes. During the Oracle Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix, SailGP strategists on board carried 5G-equipped handsets that provide live race data to help them make key tactical decisions in real-time — all while flying over the water at highway speeds with nine other F50 catamarans in close proximity.
“SailGP and T-Mobile for Business are committed to pushing the boundaries on innovative ways to bring fans into the middle of the action through on-board, live camera views,” said Warren Jones, SailGP’s chief technology officer. “Plus, our athletes can now access real-time data, which further accelerates the decision-making capabilities for our 10 national teams.”
Across the SailGP F50 fleet, 125 sensors are mounted on each F50, sending 300,000 data points every second through T-Mobile’s 5G routers, resulting in 48 billion data points in just one race day. “Our F50 catamarans are essentially massive Internet of Things (IoT) devices that also provide incredible entertainment for fans whether they’re in person or watching from around the world,” said Jones.
As the official 5G partner for SailGP events in the U.S., T-Mobile for Business will be prominently featured at each of the four U.S. events in 2023/24’s Season 4, including next summer’s Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix in June, 2024 and the SailGP Season 4 Grand Final in San Francisco in July, 2024. Additionally, T-Mobile for Business continues as the official 5G partner of the United States SailGP Team.
