Sprint Kicks Off 5G Demonstration at Copa América Centenario in Philadelphia with Speeds Up to 4 Gbps

Soccer fans at Lincoln Financial Field get a glimpse at the future of wireless sports entertainment

PHILADELPHIA (BUSINESS WIRE), June 14, 2016 – Today at Lincoln Financial Field soccer fans from around the world got a glimpse at the future of wireless sports entertainment with a Sprint (NYSE:S, news, filings) demonstration of 5G during the 2016 Copa América Centenario tournament.

Today’s demonstration utilized 15 GHz centimeter wavelength spectrum to deliver download speeds up to 4 Gbps. Soccer fans enjoyed an interactive live 5G experience kicking a soccer ball into a connected net that provided instantaneous stats. Spectators were also able to view Fan Fest activities via live streaming ultra-high definition 4K video, showcasing the blazing fast, high-bandwidth capability of 5G. In addition, Sprint demonstrated the low millisecond latency of the 5G system, as well as how the system would react to obstructions.

“We’re excited to be the first U.S. carrier to demonstrate 5G at a large scale public event such as Copa América Centenario,” said Günther Ottendorfer, Sprint COO, Technology. “It won’t be long before sports fans begin to have a much more immersive and connected wireless experience using virtual reality systems, connected sensors, and live 4K data streams. It’s great to be here today and give soccer fans a glimpse at some of the exciting applications ahead.”

Building a Strong Foundation for 5G

Today Sprint is building a strong foundation for 5G by densifying its network with the addition of various cell site solutions and smart antennas to meet future 5G demand for higher data rates per person across a given geographic location.

As wireless carriers begin preparing for 5G, high-band spectrum will be critical. Sprint has a long history of deploying multiple high spectrum bands for backhaul, including 11 GHz, 18 GHz, 23 GHz, 28 GHz and 80 GHz, with thousands of cell sites currently backhauled by microwave and millimeter wave spectrum. Sprint’s existing wireless backhaul infrastructure, which already provides Gbps throughput, is expected to be deployed on a greater scale, with further enhancements for integrated access in Sprint’s future 5G network.

“The cornerstone of 5G will be massively dense networks that use high-bandwidth spectrum to deliver vast amounts of data at tremendously high speeds,” said Dr. John Saw, Sprint CTO. “Our 2.5 GHz spectrum is the low-band spectrum of 5G. And with holdings of more than 160 MHz of 2.5 GHz spectrum in the top 100 U.S. markets, we hold more 5G-capable spectrum than any other carrier. This gives us great confidence in our position for 5G.”

Looking ahead, Sprint anticipates leveraging a multitude of advanced technologies including multiple carrier aggregation, CoMP (Co-ordinated Multi-Point) with coordinated beamforming, and massive MIMO to further enhance the capacity and coverage of its 2.5 GHz TDD-LTE spectrum.

For more of Sprint’s perspective on 5G, read Sprint CTO Dr. John Saw’s blog post “Paving the Road to 5G” and watch Günther Ottendorfer, Sprint COO – Technology, in “The Future of Sprint 5G.”

About Sprint:

Sprint (NYSE:S) is a communications services company that creates more and better ways to connect its customers to the things they care about most. Sprint served more than 58.8 million connections as of March 31, 2016 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; leading no-contract brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Sprint has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) North America for the past five years. You can learn more and visit Sprint atwww.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.

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