Sprint to trial 4K over 5G at Copa America

US mobile operator Sprint will trial 4K streamed coverage of the Copa America football tournament this summer using 5G technology.

On the company’s fiscal fourth quarter earnings call yesterday, president and CEO Marcelo Claure said that Sprint would deliver 4K soccer coverage at two Copa America stadiums in June, in partnership with Nokia and Ericsson.

The move is part of the company’s “optimisation plan” for “building the foundation for 5G.”

“We are participating in the development of the global 5G standard, and we’re collaborating with our partners and other companies on the 5G opportunity,” said Claure.

Sprint said it plans to expand the use of 2.5 GHz and higher band spectrum as it evolves to 5G, and will demonstrate “5G capabilities using millimetric band radius” to deliver the 4K content.

For the first time this summer the Copa America will be held outside of South America. The Latin American football tournament will instead be played in 10 cities across the US.