A demonstration of wireless broadcasting of a major sporting event was successfully conducted in January 2020 in Villars during the Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne.
As Laurent Zwahlen, director of NuLink, explains in an interview with the Neuchâtel Canton Department of Economic Affairs:

For major sporting events, we typically need about 40 trucks full of equipment. For the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, we shipped 120 semi-trailers by boat and sent 7,200 specialists to the site. The goal would be to ship only the cameras, microphones, timing equipment, and scoreboards, and to significantly reduce the number of employees, vehicles, and containers that need to be transported.

This is possible thanks to the implementation of a private network during these events, with a fiber-optic connection to enable full remote management of the cameras.In the medium term, this technological advancement will make it possible to replace trucks with fiber-optic cables connected to each camera, reduce the need for many employees to travel, minimize cable waste, and drastically cut down on logistics equipment. This would result in substantial cost savings and, above all, reduce the environmental impact of events of this scale.

The Innosuisse 5G-PROLIVE Project

The Innosuisse 5G-Prolive project aims to integrate all audiovisual equipment into a private 5G network during major events. The main objective of this project is to completely eliminate the need for wired audiovisual setups by using a private wireless 5G network. This network would connect all production equipment deployed on-site. This groundbreaking project was created and managed by the Neuchâtel-based company NuLink SA in close collaboration with EPFL, SRG SSR, HEIG-VD, SWISSCOM, and OFCOM.
The ultimate goal is therefore the development of private 5G networks (using a frequency outside the cellular spectrum), as well as compatible 5G modems that will be used during major sporting events and for Industry 4.0 applications.
NuLink has begun developing comprehensive private 5G solutions: from base stations to specialized modems for professional audiovisual applications. Private 5G is a system that can be installed anywhere (assembly halls, soccer stadiums, open fields) with a private network managed by the user. The user would have their own SIM cards (one per connected device) and would manage their network as they see fit, without needing a mobile carrier or a subscription.

The Major Shift from 4G to 5G.

To recap, 4G is purely a mobile phone system, whereas 5G is essentially a network for communication and data exchange, which is very useful for applications outside the consumer sector—primarily the Internet of Things (IoT). 5G offers connection speeds 100 times faster than 4G. It enables extremely low latency—the time between sending and receiving a message—which is one-tenth that of 4G. With 5G, data transfer becomes virtually simultaneous.
Thanks to 5G, many users will be able to connect simultaneously without any decrease in connection speed.

NuLink, a Neuchâtel-based company that aims to revolutionize the television industry

NuLink, a company specializing in the development and marketing of digital wireless products for the television market, has developed this revolutionary technology. Its director, Laurent Zwahlen, is passionate about television and the technology applied to it.
The company offers consulting services covering the entire project management process: technology selection, system integration, system presentations to clients, testing, and demonstrations.
NuLink has numerous technological innovation projects in the television sector to its credit:

  • The design of wireless systems used at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympic Games;
  • Technical management of the development and deployment of 48 wireless cameras used during the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France;
  • Technical leadership of the 4KREPROSYS project ( 4K Ultra HD TV Wireless Remote Production Systems). This project, in collaboration with EPFL and EUROVISION, led to the development of a new generation of “HEVC Ultra Low Latency” video compressors. Its goal is the production of 4K content covering both studio production and large-scale, mobile, and complex outdoor events. NuLink received the award for best multimedia project from Celtic-Next on June 19, 2019.

The Neuchâtel Canton Economic Development Office, in partnership with Platinn and Alliance, is supporting NuLink in its development and fundraising efforts to ensure the successful implementation of the Innosuisse project and the company’s growth.