Verizon tests LTE broadcast at Super Bowl

Although we are still a long way from a large commercial deployment of LTE technology, Verizon is rapidly improving its LTE networks and has begun updating the software on a number of smartphones to take advantage of LTE Broadcast.

On the occasion of the Super Bowl, the American technology giant Verizon has tested a series of tests aimed at testing the use of LTE for broadcast content.

The NFL Professional Football League chose on this occasion to block access to streams with the game signal from NFL.com and Fox Sport at MetLife Stadium for both Wi-Fi and cellular networks. The NFL feared that, given the widespread use of following the broadcast of the game or the repetition of the best plays on mobile devices by those who witnessed the game, the networks would completely collapse.

In this environment, Verizon has carried out content distribution tests under LTE technology, serving a single stream to certain users, instead of having to individually distribute exclusive streams to each user. The potential benefits are quite obvious: Verizon could respond to the streaming needs of large numbers of viewers by optimizing bandwidth.

Verizon has carried out this experience on a small group of users present at the final of Super Bowl XLVIII.

Although we are still a long way from a large commercial deployment of LTE technology, Verizon is rapidly improving its LTE networks and has begun updating the software on a number of smartphones to take advantage of LTE Broadcast.

LTE Broadcast uses LTE network infrastructure to transmit video or data to multiple clients simultaneously, allowing operators to more efficiently manage their network loads for high-demand content in real time, such as live sporting events, breaking news moment or software updates.

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