Olympic-sized Slicing
Olympic Slicing: T-Mobile (US) announced that the Los Angeles Organizing Committee (LA28) has selected T-Mobile for Business as the Official Telecommunications Services Provider of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
Delivering high-performance operational communications support across 110 venues and facilities hosting very large-scale foot traffic has been a significant challenge for mobile operators. For T-Mobile, the test will expand as game operations leverage the 5G-Advanced capabilities, such as network slicing. And the 2028 event will likely stand as the most extensive test of the claims behind network slicing.
The T-Mobile press release points to support for low-latency connectivity linking the International Broadcast Center (IBC) to competition venues. And T-Mobile will support the Olympic Broadcasting Services, a fundamental resource for broadcasters around the world. Supporting the heavy demands of IBC and OBS with 5G Advanced capabilities will stress the mobile air resources in the T-Mobile network. But the company is in a position to make the move thanks to the substantial spectrum holdings that came with its Sprint acquisition.
For the public safety community, access to reliable mobile broadband communications is now essential. The LA28 commitment could make simultaneous T-Mobile support for first responder network slices, LA28 slices, and best effort consumer traffic a bridge too far. Ultimately, priority for scarce spectrum resources will be given to both LA28 and first responders, so an opportunity may arise for Verizon and AT&T to capitalize on consumer challenges at venues.
The LA28 move to embrace 5G Advanced capabilities for IBC, OBS, and venue operations is the right one. Spectrum is scarce, particularly in the congested Southern California region. And 5G slicing stands as one of the best tools to ensure the most efficient allocation of spectral resources without compromise to mission-critical requirements. But the move has risks as large-scale 5G-Advanced slicing deployments are few and far between. In terms of proving out 5G-Advanced capabilities, LA28 may be the ultimate experimental guinea pig. And, to be sure, 5G slicing cannot serve all of LA28's needs. A variety of other radio resources, including good old-fashioned Wi-Fi, DMR, P25, microwave, and more, will be pressed into action for successful game operation.
It may only be 2025, but the 2028 preparation is in full swing.