"5G for Switzerland" launched
Swisscom and Ericsson are preparing for the new generation of mobile technology with the "5G for Switzerland" program. Together with the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) as a research partner, the development of 5G is being researched and advanced, as Swisscom writes. Together with industry partners, possible applications in various areas are being developed and tested.
The rapidly growing number of connected devices, sensors and ever new digital applications results in a gigantic data stream running over the mobile network. In 2020, 5G will provide a global solution for the enormous increase in the number of mobile devices and corresponding data volumes, with latency times of less than 5 milliseconds and battery life measured in years.
New opportunities for companies
Together with EPFL, Swisscom and Ericsson will cooperate with industry partners as part of "5G for Switzerland" to find out how 5G can provide business innovations and jointly develop, implement and test application possibilities for industry. Topics such as smart transportation, autonomous driving, automated traffic control systems, smart grid, massive IOT (Internet of Things) and virtual reality would be on the agenda. The results would feed into the definition of the global common standardization for 5G, which is expected to be completed in 2019, according to the statement. In the future, 5G will guarantee not only massively more speed and extremely low response times, but also even greater reliability and stability.
Michaël Thémans from EPFL emphasizes: "5G technology will accelerate the development of innovative solutions in numerous promising areas such as smart grids, smart mobility and e-health. While dozens of our laboratories are working on greater connectivity between people, objects and infrastructure, EPFL is interested in collaborating with Swisscom if only because such a collaboration will enable it to expand the scientific capabilities of its relevant laboratories."
"5G for Switzerland" is part of Ericsson's European "5G for Europe" program with the aim of strengthening the competitiveness of Switzerland and Europe. Swisscom is expected to add 5G to its network by 2020, the provider concludes.
