T-Mobile US brought to bear its 5G portfolio for the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix race, combining public-network enhancements and network slicing to solve operational obstacles.

In its third year of providing connectivity at the race, Scott Jacka, senior director on T-Mobile’s network Innovation team, stated it dialled in the types of connectivity needed for the 3.8 mile-long race which snakes through the Las Vegas Strip and includes 17 corners.

He noted the operator has seven different network slices for the race and each “gets tuned for the use case that’s on top of it”.

“The settings that we have in use for broadcast are different than the settings we might have at the point-of-sale, or different than the settings that might be there for team priorities,” he explained.

He stated the operator does some tuning on the broadcast slice to generate a more consistent video experience, but it does not necessarily do it across the board on all slices.

AvidThink founder and analyst Roy Chua noted the network slices support everything from drone videography and rooftop broadcast cameras, to sports photography and point-of-sale systems, alongside private wireless with flexible edge breakout, which allows F1 production teams to process high-bandwidth video and telemetry locally.

“T-Mobile is bringing its comprehensive 5G and 5G-Advanced network services portfolio to the Las Vegas Grand Prix, combining public-network enhancements, private wireless and advanced slicing to solve operational challenges at one of the most demanding live events in the world,” Chua said.

The operator is offering its T-Priority service for the first time to keep safety teams and first responders including the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department connected.

Power band
“In terms of extra spectrum, C-Band is something we brought in here for a limited basis that’s not necessarily broadly deployed in our public network,” Jacka said. “But our 5G on demand produces C-Band that gives us access to clean channels for a private network.”

Chua noted T-Mobile also layered in temporary cells on wheels (COWs) to reinforce coverage in lower-density track segments, and is using mmWave and C-Band spectrum for high-capacity performance in the grandstands and along the course.

Jacka said T-Mobile has permanent infrastructure along the Strip straight section of the track, but uses the COWs to reinforce coverage in lower-density track segments.

Chua noted T-Mobile is using its SuperMobile network slicing platform to give business users prioritised, secure service tiers.

“After several years of supporting the race, the carrier appears to have refined a playbook for capacity planning and rapid deployment, ensuring both fans and event operators benefit from a resilient, production-grade 5G network enhanced with new services like edge breakout and selective use of network slicing,” Chua said.