TelecomTV TelecomTV
  • News
  • Videos
  • Channels
  • Events
  • Network Partners
  • Industry Insights
  • Directory
  • Newsletters
  • Digital Platforms and Services
  • Open RAN
  • Cloud Native Telco
  • Telcos and Public Cloud
  • The Green Network
  • Private Networks
  • Open Telco Infra
  • 5G Evolution
  • Access Evolution
  • Edgenomics
  • Network Automation
  • 6G Research and Innovation
  • Security
  • More Topics
  • Network Partners
  • Industry Insights
  • Directory
  • Newsletters
  • |
  • About
  • Contact
  • |
  • Connect with us
  • Digital Platforms and Services
  • Open RAN
  • Cloud Native Telco
  • Telcos and Public Cloud
  • The Green Network
  • Private Networks
  • Open Telco Infra
  • 5G Evolution
  • Access Evolution
  • Edgenomics
  • Network Automation
  • 6G Research & Innovation
  • Security
  • Connect with TelecomTV
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Help
  • Contact
  • Sign In Register Subscribe
    • Subscribe
    • Sign In
    • Register
  • Search

5G Evolution

5G Evolution

Crowd-sourced 5G video should solve those disputed refereeing decisions... not!

Via Vodafone Media Centre Stories

Nov 5, 2019

November 5, 2019

by Vodafone UK’s Editorial & Content team

Vodafone went to the Isles of Scilly to test Fan-Assistant Refereeing (FAR) – a system that enables supporters to help the referee make tricky decisions via their 5G-enabled devices. Here’s what you need to know about this world first…

It’s fair to say that Video-Assistant Refereeing (VAR) has received a mixed reception from football fans since its recent introduction to the game. Nabbing as many headlines as Kevin De Bruyne registers assists, noise from the terraces is split between hopeful chants of “V-A-R!” when a team concedes, to an almighty chorus of boos when the tech – and army of assistant refs – find fault in a favourable decision.

So we asked ourselves: can supporters provide a less controversial alternative? And took to the Isles of Scilly to find out.

Home of the smallest football league in the world, and containing only two teams, the Woolpack Wanderers and Garrison Gunners, the Isles of Scilly agreed to test the world’s first Fan-Assistant Referee (FAR) system. It works by crowd-sourcing decisions from fans to support the referee with on-the-spot decision making – putting them at the heart of the game.

How did it all work out, and will we be seeing FAR grace the Champions League any time soon? We’ve got the highlights here…

Decisions, decisions

First, the match: a scintillating tie between the league’s top (and only) teams, the Wanderers and the Gunners. During the game, referee Paul Charnock was armed with a 5G phone and, when contentious issues arose, he enlisted the support of fans at different locations around the island who were watching the game on their phones . They were able to see replays of any dispute in slow-motion and from different angles. Then a poll was conducted to see what action the ref should take, with the results displayed on Mr Charnock’s phone.Cartoon showing Fan Assisted Refereeing in action

The fans voted on handballs, penalties, fouls, and goals over Vodafone’s lightning-fast 5G network. Then it was up to the official to inform the players of the decision.

And it’s fair to say that some of the calls from armchair supporters were less than popular: “The idea behind it is class, but the public who were streaming it made some absolutely shocking decisions,” Chairman of the league, Anthony ‘Gibbo’ Gibbons, said: “I produced one of the best tackles of my entire career, and people watching informed the ref it was a foul. Even now watching it back I am baffled. Scandalous.”

Results business

FAR led to a thrilling match, with the Woolpack Wanderers coming out on top as 4 – 3 winners, with only a few minutes to spare, after fans awarded a goal which was originally called offside. It seems that even in the hands of supporters, controversy in football is never far away.

Referee Charnock was a little more welcoming of the approach: “It’s a novel idea. If FAR gets more people involved in the game – particularly at this level – then it can only be a good thing. Let’s see how things develop…”

And while FAR may not be quite ready for the world’s biggest stages, the football league on the Isles of Scilly provided a perfect testing ground for 5G, with the test placing it under real-time scrutiny. It’s fair to say, it passed with flying colours.

5G on the Isles of Scilly

The speed and reliability of 5G makes this kind of experiment possible. Scott Petty, Vodafone’s chief technology officer, said: “I think the trial was a huge success, and hopefully only the first tech experiment in Vodafone’s two-year partnership with The Isles of Scilly Football League.

“The fast speeds and reaction times of 5G lend themselves to situations where time is of the essence. It allows fans to experience a little of the pressure facing match officials, and helps local communities feel closer to Sunday league action.

“5G can also offer many benefits to large but remote communities like the one on the Isles of Scilly: access to vital financial, educational, and healthcare-related digital services enjoyed by people in towns and cities would be just the start. Vodafone is closing the divide between rural and urban communities because all people have the right to be connected.”

While you may not hear chants of “F-A-R” in the Premier League any time soon, 5G certainly has the potential to get the crowd off its feet.

*Want to know more about 5G? Click here. *

Related Topics
  • 5G Evolution,
  • Europe,
  • Telco & CSP,
  • Tracker,
  • Vodafone

More Like This

5G Evolution

BT Group and SPL look to the stratosphere to deliver 4G and 5G coverage to hard-to-reach areas of the UK

Jan 30, 2023

5G Evolution

Docomo and YKK AP to test signal-permeable windows made with aerogel for easy penetration by radio waves

Jan 30, 2023

5G Evolution

Small, efficient 5G multisector antenna indoor base station achieves world's first demonstration using 28GHz

Jan 30, 2023

5G Evolution

Docomo conducts world's first trial of transmissive metasurface on window to deliver indoor radio waves to outdoor foot of building

Jan 30, 2023

Open RAN

What’s up with… Open RAN investments, Veon in Russia, AWS

Jan 27, 2023

This content extract was originally sourced from an external website (Vodafone Media Centre Stories) and is the copyright of the external website owner. TelecomTV is not responsible for the content of external websites. Legal Notices

Email Newsletters

Stay up to date with the latest industry developments: sign up to receive TelecomTV's top news and videos plus exclusive subscriber-only content direct to your inbox – including our daily news briefing and weekly wrap.

Subscribe

Top Picks

Highlights of our content from across TelecomTV today

0:46

The Cloud Native Telco Summit returns this September!

8:32

Azita Arvani on Being a Female Leader at Rakuten Symphony

16:19

AT&T Amy Zwarico on securing telco applications in the public cloud

1:44

Join us for the greatest industry debate of the year!

TelecomTV
Company
  • About Us
  • Media Kit
  • Contact Us
Our Brands
  • DSP Leaders World Forum
  • Great Telco Debate
  • TelecomTV Events
Get In Touch
[email protected]
+44 (0) 207 448 1070
Connect With Us
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • Terms of Use
  • Legal Notices
  • Help

TelecomTV is produced by the team at Decisive Media.

© Decisive Media Limited 2023. All rights reserved. All brands and products are the trademarks of their respective holder(s).