Sunrise rolls out first 5G stadium app for FC Basel 1893

Swiss alternative telco Sunrise, set to merger with Liberty Global’s UPC Switzerland, has launched the first of what it says will be a series of 5G-enabled fan-experience enrichment applications for football fans with the Sunrise CamCheck, a new service developed in partnership with FC Basel 1893.

The app will enable FC Basel 1893 fans to choose from four different camera positions in the FCB-App and watch scenes live or scroll back a few minutes and watch them in replay from a multi-angle perspective. Highlights can be analyzed very precisely with the slow-motion function. CamCheck is active at all FCB home games and is available live via the stadium Wi-Fi and the 5G network of Sunrise throughout St. Jakob Park – for all 36,000 seats.

The St. Jakob Park football stadium in Basel is equipped with WiFi 6 standard WiFi and is completely covered with a high-performance 5G network. Sunrise said the CamCheck is the first of a number of steps.  Next steps in the Smart Stadium partnership will include 360° live videos and augmented reality applications that can be used to display additional player data. In further innovation phases, more camera positions are planned to provide insights behind the scenes.

The CamCheck was developed in the course of 12 months.

Sunrise meanwhile cited analysis by I H S’s RootMetrics that showed it offered the fastest 5G network in Switzerland and the best network connectivity.

“The RootMetrics analysis confirms again that we offer the fastest 5G network including the best network connectivity. We pioneered 5G in Switzerland and Europe and are proud of our leading position. With the best network connectivity including lowest 5G latency we offer private customers the best network for mobile gaming and we are the best 5G partner for all business customers. We are excited to implement the first 5G Smart Stadium in Switzerland with FC Basel 1893. Thanks to this strong partnership the fan experience can be increased in a great way and CamCheck is only a first reference for this,” said André Krause, CEO of Sunrise.

“Our Smart Stadium partnership with Sunrise will offer spectators in the stadium – not least thanks to 5G and IoT – a completely new football experience around the home games of FC Basel 1893. In Switzerland’s first 5G stadium, football on the pitch will of course remain the focus of attention. However, the new technology will enable us to launch various services that will provide fans with added value during the game and improve the matchday experience in the long term. Sunrise and the FCB are working together to make St. Jakob Park even more unique and varied,” saidF rank Schaffner, Director Digital FC Basel 1893.