Allianz Arena To Adopt 5G For Faster Streaming And AR And VR Capabilities

FC Bayern Munich, the German soccer club that competes in the country’s premier league division, has revealed plans to equip their home ground at Allianz Arena with 5G technology.

As part of the long-term partnership with German telecommunications provider Deutsche Telekom, the club plans to use the 5G technology to enhance the fan experience at their home stadium and become one of Europe’s first soccer clubs to do so in the process.

“The Allianz Arena stands for quality, progress and innovation, so we’re very glad we can offer our fans this special technology so early with the help of our longstanding partners Deutsche Telekom,” Bayern chief executive, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, said.

“After the comprehensive W-LAN extension in 2015, the 5G technology is the next logical step to make the experience at the stadium even more attractive around the game.”

In providing fans with 5G, Bayern say they want to improve their ability to stream mobile video content faster and in higher resolution from inside the stadium, and also allow for the integration of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) tools into the matchday experience.

In addition, Bayern are also working on ways the technology can be used to allow fans to ‘participate in goal celebrations’, while they also cite virtual competitions as a possibility.

“Together with FC Bayern, we’ll enable our fans to experience the 5G technology,” added Michael Hagspihl, Deutsche Telekom’s director of private client relations.

“It can offer visitors to the Allianz Arena a new dimension of spectator experience via VR or AR.”

Spanish champions FC Barcelona confirmed their own plans earlier this year to install the technology at the Nou Camp in collaboration with Telefónica.