
Live From Super Bowl LIX: Verizon's Joe Russo on How 5G Can Get to the Next Level for Broadcasters, Fans By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Saturday, February 8, 2025 - 12:11 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Verizon EVP of Global Networks and Technology Joe Russo is on site at Super Bowl LIX making sure that the large Verizon team, and the even larger Verizon 5G and wireless network is running properly. And that network is important as both the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles coaching staffs rely on a Verizon 5G network for their communications and, of course, tens of thousands of fans in the stadium will rely on it for their connectivity. Russo discussed the week's efforts and the future of 5G as a tool for broadcast production with SVG Editorial Director Ken Kerschbaumer.
What does Super Bowl week mean for Verizon given your role working with the NFL but then also supporting wireless needs of fans?
We leverage this event to showcase all our latest and greatest technology. It's not only for the venue itself, or for the back office of the NFL, or the city around it we're trying to put all of the technology we've been developing into the Super Bowl weekend so that we can demonstrate all the new stuff. Several years ago, we first started deploying 5G millimeter wave and we just keep building on that.
This year we have the coach-to-coach communication for the second year. We have a private network for the broadcasters to communicate. And we turned on standalone 5G throughout New Orleans which allows us to then do 5G advanced features this year like slicing for first responders or creators. We can guarantee certain capabilities that they need for what they're trying to do on our networks.
Joe Russo, Executive Vice President and President of Global Networks and Technology (GN&T) at Verizon
You mentioned year two of the coaching communications service. How has that been going?
I meet with the NFL's CIO every month and we talk about lots of different things, and I thought year one was exceptional. The performance of the network, the clarity of the communication is what they were looking for and we over-delivered on that. And now two things have happened since then. First, we are doing it for all their international games via our private 5G portable network that we take with us, and they keep expanding the international games, which makes it challenging for us as we have to work with local carriers. And then the other thing is we're now working with the NFL on expanding the private network we use for coach to coach for other things that they want to do like back-office support or sideline communications. The referees now have watches this year that are connected to the private network so we have proven how a private network can really give them end-to-end communication in a venue.
Obviously, broadcasters have shown they believe in bonded cellular technologies from companies like LiveU or TVU Networks. They are hugely important for broadcasters everywhere. And you mentioned slicing and one of the dreams for broadcasters is the ability to roll out their broadcast cameras for an event and tap into a 5G wireless network. Where are we on the roadmap to making that a reality?
One of four 5G transmission nodes on the field of Super Bowl LIX that will support coaches communications. Only two are active at any one time leaving the other two available as back ups.
We're in the early innings but there are three things that have to come together. The first is you have to have the 5G core to support it and we launched that nationwide last year, so the core now has all the capabilities you need to support 5G advanced features.
The second thing is you have to have the radio access network to support the 5G advanced features. We've taken a bit of a different approach than some of our competitors in that our view is if we're really going to offer these 5G advanced features we need to do them on our mid band or high band spectrums because if it's on the low band spectrum you might as well use 4G LTE. So, our view was let's build out the mid-band spectrum across the nation, get as much of the population covered as we can, and turn that spectrum on with standalone services. So that's kind of our strategy: make our standalone network a true differentiated experience that I could support with the great mid band spectrum, we have the C-band spectrum or millimeter wave, for certain applications like venues.
And then there is the third layer which is the devices have to support it. So today I think Samsung S21, and Apple 14 or newer cellphones all have SA capability. But what we have to work on with the ecosystems of backpacks that may have a 5G chip in it is we need to get them to support standalone networks. And I think that is where the industry is probably the furthest behind: having devices that support standalone networks.
What can be done to speed that along?
There are things we can do like RedCap or reduced capacity 5G which means the core doesn't need to support the kind of complex functions that are on a smartphone. We could reduce the form factor and reduce the cost. Our core now supports Redcap and we're working with all of the device manufacturers to bring the price and form factors down for those 5G SA capable devices so they can be put into backpacks and other things.
And the challenge there is that someone needs to manufacturer devices with those capabilities, but they won't do that unless there is a solid potential customer base who can support the manufacturing of those devices.
Exactly. So, if you look at the tablets on the sidelines that are used by the coaches and players at NFL games as an example, it's a Microsoft tablet today but it doesn't support 5G millimeter wave.
North America Stories
06/08/2026
The broadcaster's 14-race schedule begins in Iowa and ends in November with ...
06/08/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
06/08/2026
As media organizations consolidate teams, technology platforms, and content libr...
06/08/2026
Firmware updates introduce Dolby's next-generation picture engine, content-aware optimization, and new motion and ambient-light tools...
06/08/2026
TNT Sports will have wall-to-wall coverage of the upcoming FIBA Women's Bask...
06/08/2026
swXtch.io (Stand 5.MR13) has unveiled groundSwXtch for Audio over IP (AoIP), a software application that lets broadcasters and media organizations move audio in...
06/08/2026
At IBC2026, Riedel Communications (Stands: 10.A24, 10.A31, 10.A38) will bring modern media production to life with the Live Production Experience - a connected ...
06/08/2026
The first live-sports director to receive the prestigious honor, eight-time Emmy...
06/08/2026
NBC Sports will continue to present the Preakness Stakes on NBC and Peacock thro...
06/08/2026
Cobalt Digital (Stand 8.F90) continues to reinforce its commitment to delivering...
06/08/2026
Wave Central has promoted promotion Jeff Daubert to Director of Sales, Americas.
In his expanded role, Daubert will lead Wave Central's sales strategy and ...
06/08/2026
KMH Integration is expanding its ability to serve media, broadcast, and IT organizations by adding Keith Hanadel, an accomplished architect with decades of indu...
06/08/2026
Advanced Systems Group (ASG) has promoted Michele Ferreira from Vice President of its Systems Integration team to the newly created position of Chief Business O...
06/08/2026
Demonstrations will include new JPEG XS, Dolby audio, cloud-gateway, stream-processing, and distribution capabilities...
06/08/2026
The deal includes three premium mobile units, engineering personnel, existing br...
06/08/2026
Broadcast Management Group produced Amazon Prime's inaugural Obsessed Fest a...
06/08/2026
Exhibit will feature new variable-ND functionality, OLED viewfinders, remote-camera tools, and UHD production monitors...
06/08/2026
Compact full-frame E-mount lens targets sports, wildlife, and other long-range shooting applications...
06/08/2026
Live broadcast will honor Roger Federer and Mary Carillo on Aug. 29, with onsite...
06/08/2026
End-zone board receives higher-resolution LED technology and an updated Show Control system ahead of the 2026 football season...
06/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/08/2026
Proven offering builds on more than 20,000 live sporting events with greater automation, flexibility, and operational control
LTN , the industry leader in tran...
06/08/2026
Hornets Tech, a specialist in broadcast connectivity and IP video, is bringing a new range of encoders, decoders and an IPTV platform to IBC2026.
Broadcast in...
06/08/2026
Introducing Adobe for ChatGPT: Create, edit and get work done - all in ChatGPT
Deepti Pradeep August 6, 2026
0 Comments
The Adobe plugin in ChatGPT br...
06/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/08/2026
At IBC2026, MediaKind will make its first major appearance as a unified global powerhouse in video, showcasing one of the world's most comprehensive video i...
06/08/2026
Big Blue Marble (#5.A63) will demonstrate how its integrated technology and operational expertise help media companies scale premium services with less complexi...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Scripps Research has received more than $500,000 in first-year fund...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Viruses are masters at invading our cells thanks to specialized proteins that coat their surfaces. When scientists design vaccines, they often crea...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-The brain has its own immune system, which detects threats and mounts a defense. A growing body of evidence has shown that in Alzheimer's disea...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Scripps Research chemist Jin-Quan Yu has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), one of the highest honors a scientist can achieve....
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Scripps Research ranked third in the inaugural 2026 Cure Innovation Index recognizing the top-performing institutes and centers across the United S...
06/08/2026
Benjamin Cravatt, the Gilula Chair of Chemical Biology and a professor of chemis...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Dennis Burton, professor and the James & Jessie Minor Chair in Immu...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Inside every human cell, proteins are constantly being tagged with small chemical modifications after they're produced. Known as post-translati...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA-Scripps Research has established the Ian Wilson Endowed Chair, a new fa...
06/08/2026
Scripps Research's Skaggs Graduate School of Chemical and Biological Science...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Professor Jin-Quan Yu of Scripps Research has been elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society, the U.K.'s national academy of sciences and ...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-For years, researchers have been hoping for vaccines that protect people against not just one strain of HIV, but every strain of the quickly mutati...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-The Calibr-Skaggs Institute for Innovative Medicines, the nonprofit...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Building the complex 3D molecules needed for new medicines has alwa...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Fentanyl and related variants of the synthetic opioid kill more Americans each year than car accidents and gun violence combined. In too-high doses...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-What do decoding communication between organs and reimagining the future of genome editing have in common? They're among the scientific questio...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Of the 1.2 million people living with HIV in the United States, app...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-For some people, cancer immunotherapies are life-changing. These treatments can turn the body's own immune system against a tumor, either elimi...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Many conditions that cause vision loss share a common feature: the ...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-RNA interference is a natural mechanism for living cells to control whether specific genes are being used or not.
Crowned with the 2006 Nobel Priz...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-The drugs that keep rheumatoid arthritis in check may one day help people stop drinking. A new Scripps Research study shows that an anti-inflammato...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Antibiotic resistance is one of the most urgent threats to global health, linked to an estimated 4.7 million deaths worldwide in 2019 alone. As mor...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Some of the world's best-selling diabetes drugs depend on a che...