Vodafone is bringing a slice of Centre Court to tennis fans this Wimbledon as it is using its latest 5G technology to let visitors try returning live serves from the tournament’s biggest stars.
Vodafone has unveiled what it calls the world’s first 5G+ Serve experience. Located at the Wimbledon Park courts, the installation uses a robotic arm that recreates real serves from live Wimbledon matches just moments after they’re hit.
Vodafone powers the setup with its 5G Standalone (5G+) network, streaming live match data over a dedicated network slice. As a result, the robotic arm can mirror each serve’s speed, angle and trajectory in near real time. This gives fans the chance to experience just how difficult it is to return a professional serve.
The experience doesn’t stop with this year’s tournament, either. Vodafone says the system can also replay iconic serves from Wimbledon history. In turn, this lets visitors test themselves against some of the sport’s most memorable moments.
The technology behind it is arguably just as interesting as the tennis itself. Vodafone is using its 5G+ Local Slicing technology, which reserves a dedicated portion of the mobile network for a specific application. In this case, it ensures the robotic arm continues receiving data quickly and reliably. This holds true even while tens of thousands of spectators are using the network around the All England Club.
While the demo is designed to entertain tennis fans, Vodafone says it also highlights how network slicing could be used beyond sport. Similar technology could support everything from live broadcasting and cloud gaming to manufacturing, healthcare and logistics. In these industries, low latency and reliable connectivity are essential.
The launch comes alongside new research commissioned by Vodafone, which found that 34% of Brits believe they could return a professional tennis serve. At the same time, 19% think they could do it without any training. That confidence rises to 43% among men. Furthermore, more than half of people aged 35 or younger believe the same.
Vodafone has also upgraded its network around Wimbledon by deploying additional C-band spectrum to improve speeds and capacity. Following the merger with Three, customers on both networks can now automatically connect to whichever signal offers the best coverage. This helps keep fans online throughout this year’s Championships.
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