SailGP unfurls private, public 5G connectivity across UK event sites

Just as the sailing competition is about to weigh anchor at Portsmouth for its British leg, global racing championship SailGP has announced a collaboration with BT Group and Ericsson that will see 5G Standalone (5G SA) network slicing capabilities deliver critical connectivity to underpin the event’s operations and enhance fan experience.

The championship features 10 teams with identical high-tech, high-speed 50ft foiling catamarans racing head-to-head at 12 venues around the world, with vessels reaching speeds of up to 100km an hour. A total prize money of $12m is at stake.

For the 2025 series, Ericsson, the official global technology partner, has been providing teams and personnel with enterprise wireless services to support high-quality 5G connectivity, improving fan experience and race operations.

To support the split-second human response decisions, Ericsson said each team will have access to the fastest connectivity possible under some of the most challenging physical conditions. The offerings are said to deliver instant real-time data and statistical feedback, despite the 100km per hour speeds over open waters.

Additionally, the services will support SailGP ​umpires​ to adjudicate on race protocol through the enhanced capabilities of 5G-enabled live camera streaming from competing ​F50s​, and insights into team locations, tactics and strategy.

The partnership will see Ericsson working with BT, the official technology supplier for the Portsmouth event, to provide high-performance indoor and outdoor connectivity at the SailGP UK event sites.

Each F50 is equipped with Ericsson Cradlepoint edge routers that connect to the Private 5G network, plus additional capacity via a dedicated network slice on BT’s public 5G SA network. These routers handle more than 53 billion data points per race day, transmitting internet of things data, video streams and critical communications in real time. This connectivity supports SailGP umpires in adjudicating race protocols through live camera streaming, and provides the 12 national teams with insights into competitor locations, tactics and strategies.

The Ericsson Private 5G network spans operational and event sites, including the technical centre located about 30km from the event, built to offer secure, mobile, low-latency connections. High-frequency radios, being tested by Ericsson and BT, deliver multiple gigabit capacity deployed to power immersive augmented reality 360-degree video experiences for fans in the fan zone, simulating the adrenaline of being onboard an F50 catamaran.

BT will provide two dedicated network slices tailored to the event’s specific requirements, enhancing connectivity and complementing Ericsson’s role in delivering high-capacity network performance for SailGP. This is said to be a UK first for BT in delivering multiple concurrent network slices at the same event. BT has also worked with Nokia to deploy network slicing capabilities in several radio mast sites covering the event area around Portsmouth harbour, with the slicing being configured end-to-end.

BT will provision these slices to provide dedicated capacity for critical use cases including boat connectivity, point-of-sale terminals and media, where select photographers will be able to upload photos in real time. For boat connectivity, the 5G network will support roaming between the private and public network across all 12 F50s.

BT says its network slice can ensure always-on connectivity for voice communications, transfer of telemetry data and on-board video. Point-of-sale terminal connectivity is designed to enable a quick payments process in SailGP’s official merchandise shop.

For broadcast, the technical partners are working with Sony and its 5G live production products to trial new broadcast capabilities. Roaming Full HD cameras will utilise the network slice – optimised for the high-capacity uplink requirements of Sony’s encoders – to support a SailGP production that is broadcast to 212 countries worldwide.

New to the UK event is SailGP’s 360-degree augmented and virtual reality experience, which will allow fans to experience what it’s like to be onboard an F50. This experience will use higher-capacity 5G radios, being tested in Portsmouth by BT and Ericsson, designed to enable ultra-low-latency performance and gigabit capacity.

“Bringing SailGP back to UK shores after three years is a major milestone, and delivering a world-class, tech-driven event is critical to the success of it,” said Warren Jones, chief technology officer of SailGP. “Partnering with BT has allowed us to push the boundaries of what’s possible in sports connectivity. In a first for SailGP, BT’s use of 5G standalone network slicing ensures the global championship can maintain real-time communications, telemetry and live video from the racecourse – this collaboration showcases how cutting-edge connectivity can transform the delivery of global sporting events.”