Weybridge, April 2nd, 2025 - In addition to providing a dedicated slice of the 5G network to NRK's photographers during the Ski World Championship, Telia also tested another feature of 5G during the championship, namely the millimeter band (mmWave). This is a separate radio network that uses a higher frequency (26 GHz) and shorter wavelengths. This was connected to Telia's 5G network at the stadium in Granåsen to provide fast connectivity to certain photographers using Sony's equipment during the world championship. The results were impressive:

"We have never seen such performance on any handset," says Georg Svendsen, Head of Infrastructure at Telia Norway.

Sony's new handset PDT-FP1 showed a download capacity of 5.4 Gbps and an upload capacity of over 600 Mbps in Telia's mobile network.

"These are impressive numbers, especially considering that this test is being conducted in Telia's live 5G network, at a ski stadium, with an audience present, and not in a controlled lab environment. These speeds are clearly a record in Granåsen, and as far as we know, it is also a world record," says Svendsen.

"What makes this demonstration from Telia so unique is primarily that they offer a range of technologies and incredible flexibility to allocate capacity to thousands of spectators on the public network, while also offering different kinds of premium services for NRK and Sony photographers," says Mirwais Momand, Connected Business Engineering Office at Sony. "This level of agility, with incredibly high speeds, makes Telia a leader in network capabilities. I am not aware of anyone else who can showcase such high capacity and advanced solutions at a large live event".

More efficient workflow

This technology provides a significantly more efficient workflow. Usually, high-resolution image files from digital cameras are transferred to a server during the photo assignment via LAN cables, WiFi, or regular mobile phones. By connecting the cameras to Sony's new portable unit PDT-FP1, the image files are sent directly to the photographer's cloud service faster and more flexible, allowing images to be published immediately.

"This provides a much better and more efficient workflow," says Mirwais. “In fact, several cameras can be connected to the same unit wirelessly”, he adds. “With the unmatched uplink capacity there is no problem to connect several cameras.”

Impressive network capacity

"It has been very rewarding to collaborate with Telia on this solution. We are impressed with the network capacity and that they could already offer mmWave and a 5G SA network during the Ski World Championship in Trondheim. We have tested similar solutions with other operators before, and we believe this is the future way of producing content", says Mirwais at Sony. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

The radio spectrum used is currently only available for testing, but Telia plans to make it commercially available during the year. "Such capacity in the mobile network can be used in places where there is a need for large bandwidth, high upload capacity, or as fixed mobile broadband and a full-fledged alternative to fiber," says Svendsen.

About Sony Corporation

Sony Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation and is responsible for the Entertainment, Technology & Services (ET&S) business. With the mission to “create the future of entertainment through the power of technology together with creators,” we aim to continue to deliver Kando* to people around the world.

For more information, visit: http://www.sony.net/

*Kando is a Japanese word that roughly translates to the sense of awe and emotion you feel when experiencing something beautiful and amazing for the first time.