Cross-site evaluation of private 5G LANs interconnected via public WAN for synchronised immersive applications: connecting fan zones

Synchronised immersive media across venues requires high throughput and predictable timing. This paper reports a live, cross-site trial connecting two UK fan zones, each with an on-site private 5G network, separated by approximately 280 miles, over a public wide-area network during the 2025 Six Nations broadcast. Throughput, latency, jitter, and packet loss were measured under (i) on-site operation and (ii) dual-site WAN operation while multi-stream media drove an immersive and interactive live sports experience. The private 5G path sustained 66.5 Mb/s TCP, ~5 ms RTT, and 0.055 ms jitter, exhibiting deterministic behaviour suitable for frame-accurate workflows. The WAN-bridged path averaged 3.84 Mb/s, with ~0.465 ms jitter and RTT excursions up to 197 ms, challenging tight synchronisation. Contributions: (1) reproducible cross-site evidence that private 5G affords low-jitter transport for time- critical media while public-WAN variability disrupts synchrony; (2) a portable, site-parity methodology for multi-venue measurement; and (3) actionable guidance for hybrid architectures keeping interactive media on the on-site private-5G with edge offload and reserving WAN links for non-critical exchanges informing the path to 5G Advanced/6G.