Bharti Airtel (Airtel), India’s premier communications solutions provider, today showcased 5G’s high-speed, low latency capabilities to transform the future of video entertainment and take the user experience to the next level.

Using cutting edge immersive video technologies over its high speed 5G test network, Airtel recreated the in-stadia experience of Kapil Dev’s famous 175 not out vs Zimbabwe, during the 1983 Cricket World Cup. A special 175 replayed video, in 4K mode, brought key moments from the match to life, which had no video footage due to a strike by TV technicians.

With a speed of over 1Gbps and a latency of under 20 ms, more than 50 concurrent users enjoyed a highly personalized 4K video experience of the match on 5G smartphones, with real-time access to multiple camera angles, 360-degree in-stadia view, shot analysis and stats.

The session was made even more exciting with India’s first 5G powered hologram interaction with Kapil Dev. The Airtel 5G powered virtual avatar of the legendary cricketer appeared on the stage, to interact with the fans in real-time and walk them through the key moments of his innings.

Randeep Sekhon, CTO, Bharti Airtel said, “The gigabit speeds and millisecond latency of 5G will transform the way we consume entertainment. With today’s demonstration, we have only scratched the surface of the infinite possibilities of 5G and highly personalized immersive experiences in the digital world. With 5G based holograms, we will be able to transport virtual avatars to any location and this will be a game-changer for meetings and conferences, LIVE news and will have so many other use cases.”

“Airtel is fully prepared for 5G in this emerging digital world and is building a solid pipeline of innovative use cases for India. We also take this opportunity to thank the Department of Telecom for giving us the trial spectrum, to validate our technology and use cases.”