Broadcast Industry Urges Mobile Network Operators to Help Commercialise Live Production Over 5G By Exposing Standardised Quality on Demand APIs
The media broadcast industry, supported by GSMA Fusion, today called on mobile network operators to expose standardised Quality on Demand (QoD) network APIs so broadcasters and production companies can secure the connectivity they need for resilient, ultra-low-latency live broadcast production.
In a new Statement of Requirement issued by Neutral Wireless and supported by Amarisoft, AW2S, BBC, France Télévisions, Haivision, RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana, and Sony, with further support from the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC), the group highlights a key barrier to 5G adoption in broadcast. Specifically, that without user-accessible control of network performance, it is difficult for broadcasters to prioritise the most critical video, audio and control data flows during live production – especially in high-demand or congested environments.
The collaboration is urging mobile network operators (MNOs) and ecosystem players to implement CAMARA QoD APIs, through the GSMA Open Gateway initiative, to deliver interoperable, cross-network capabilities. Alongside GSMA Open Gateway, GSMA Fusion aims to act as a bridge between industries and the global mobile ecosystem, making it easier for businesses to access and benefit from network capabilities through standardised APIs. This standardisation would allow broadcast technology vendors to build once and deploy widely, simplifying operations and unlocking new live production workflows.
Meeting the demands of modern live production
Currently, wireless broadcast production relies on three link types: contribution links (remote, low bitrate, high latency), supplementary links (medium quality and latency), and production links (local, high bitrate, ultra-low latency). Public 4G and 5G networks are already widely used for contribution links due to nationwide network coverage and ease of use for camera crew. However, shared capacity can lead to higher latency, reduced video quality, and inconsistent performance for live feeds caused by congestion in high-demand environments. As broadcasters adopt more demanding 5G standalone workflows—often alongside other “stacked” use cases on the same infrastructure—the ability to prioritise key devices and data flows on demand is becoming crucial.
While some proprietary solutions exist, these are often difficult to scale. MNOs are rarely incentivised to develop bespoke APIs for third parties, while broadcast hardware vendors cannot support multiple proprietary implementations with differing behaviour. Standardised APIs are therefore essential to break this deadlock where networks and devices cannot efficiently prioritise critical live feeds on-the-fly, and to unlock broad ecosystem adoption.
Use cases and next steps
Recent private 5G standalone deployments have demonstrated the potential of 5G for live broadcast production at scale, including the Coronation of King Charles III in 2023 and the Paris 2024 Games, where uplink-biased networks supported large numbers of contribution, supplementary and production feeds. To facilitate similarly resilient operations even under constrained network conditions, the group has outlined two key APIs:
- QoD API: dynamically enhances network performance to protect critical feeds and services ensuring smooth, uninterrupted live broadcasts.
- QoS Profiles API: provides predefined QoS profiles to support stable latency or throughput for specific data flows.
Beyond broadcast, the requirement extends to other verticals, including opportunities to share infrastructure with public protection and disaster relief (PPDR), where priorities may need to change instantly between broadcast and emergency services, and even between different PPDR devices. Combined with developments such as mobile edge computing (MEC) and network slicing, open QoD could help enable new low-latency workflows and essential local services on public networks.
“The development and implementation of standardised network APIs, with full interoperability and cross-market coverage, gives the broadcast production industry the tools needed to meet evolving customer demands. By making network performance predictable and controllable on demand, broadcasters can design innovative live production solutions that respond in real-time to users, whether that’s multi-camera workflows, interactive content or low-latency feeds,” said Jamie Trinh, Media & Entertainment Development Lead at GSMA Fusion. “At the same time, this represents a significant opportunity for mobile operators to realise the value of their 5G infrastructure across markets.”
“Private networks and public network slicing can provide dedicated resources in high demand environments but are still potentially resource constrained and could become oversubscribed, resulting in packet loss and feeds that are unusable when needed. Reliability of wireless connectivity is a key concern inhibiting the adoption of 5G technologies for live production, and the addition of QoD to dynamically control resource priority would represent a significant step towards protecting critical feeds and ensuring resilience,” said Sam Yoffe, Senior Systems Engineer, at Neutral Wireless. “Whether that be on private or public networks, an open approach will be essential to encourage the development of interoperable vendor solutions and drive adoption.”
The Statement of Requirement encourages MNOs to prioritise availability of the CAMARA QoD and QoS Profile APIs in the UK (Q4 2026), Italy (Q1 2027) and France (Q2 2027), followed by the Netherlands (Q3 2027) and the USA (Q3 2028). With partner support, the group expects to begin pilots and demonstrations within six months of go-live dates, with a planned showcase at the IBC Show in September 2026. The IBC Accelerator project led by Neutral Wireless, GSMA Fusion and BBC Technology Operations will focus on the implementation of open network APIs for dynamic network control during live broadcasts.
The supporting organisations, representing the end-to-end community from network vendors and operators to end user broadcasters, are calling for an open and non-discriminatory system of standard APIs, provided by as many MNOs and private network providers as possible, to maximise interoperability and impact across vendors, networks and industries.
About Neutral Wireless
Neutral Wireless specialises in private 5G connectivity for live production, smart venues, public safety and large-scale events. The company enables broadcasters, rights holders and organisations to deploy high performance wireless networks that support modern IP workflows across land, sea and air environments. Its nibOS software platform provides intuitive management and monitoring capabilities designed specifically for real-world deployment scenarios. Neutral Wireless works closely with industry partners to deliver flexible, sustainable and scalable connectivity solutions for next generation production.