The UPC participates in the 5GBarcelona initiative to turn Catalonia into a European 5G digital hub
The Government of Catalonia, Barcelona City Council, Mobile World Capital Barcelona, the i2CAT Foundation, the Telecommunications Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTTC), Atos and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) have presented the agreement they have signed in support of the 5GBarcelona initiative, which aims to turn the city and Catalonia into one of the European digital innovation hubs in the field of 5G technology.
Mar 21, 2018
5G technology will lead to technological change and the creation of smart environments and advanced industries at the service of citizens and emerging economic sectors. It will facilitate access to the Internet of Things, paving the way for new disruptive services in areas such as autonomous and connected vehicles, drone-based services, Industry 4.0 and access to e-health services, and improving user experience and giving support to critical services. The deployment of 5G will lead to the technological transformation of services and infrastructure, reduce the digital divide and create opportunities for new generations.
Catalonia is a benchmark region in R&D in the 5G field. Since the 5G PPP initiative, launched in 2014 within the framework of the European Commission's H2020 programme, research bodies in Catalonia have obtained funding to participate in 22 projects of the 37 that have been funded—a very positive figure that reaffirms the leadership of Catalonia within the 5G ecosystem on an international scale.
5GBarcelona will launch a European 5G digital hub based on an open experimental infrastructure in the metropolitan area, which will serve as an urban, citizen-led and technological laboratory for validating 5G technologies and services. It will be an open innovation environment based on the collaboration between agents both public and private that will generate synergies with the ecosystem generated by the Mobile World Congress (MWC) and other technology fairs held in Barcelona. It will also be a stimulus for the existing innovation ecosystem in Barcelona and will help capture foreign investment, boost technological start-ups and develop an industry around 5G.
This year, the European Commission will choose, within the upcoming stages of the 5G PPP programme, a small number of projects whose aim will be to create test and validation environments for 5G. 5GBarcelona wants to be one of them.
Catalonia is not just a powerful force in R&D that is nourished by pioneering companies and bodies; its capital, Barcelona, is the world headquarters of mobile technologies and has the experience of holding the MWC.
Barcelona is currently already acting as a public test bench for the new 5G paradigm through the 5GCity project. The project is participated in by Barcelona City Council, i2CAT, Betevé and CellNex, among others, and its aim is to develop a pilot for the deployment of a neutral 5G network.
In the coming months, the founding members of the 5GBarcelona initiative will begin to implement the action plan that will allow the experimental infrastructure to be deployed, the verticals to which to give support and services to be identified, other entities and companies that wish to become joint participants to be incorporated, and a citizen base to be involved in this open and strategic initiative in Barcelona and Catalonia, making 5GBarcelona the first 5G living lab in Europe and around the world.
Catalonia is a benchmark region in R&D in the 5G field. Since the 5G PPP initiative, launched in 2014 within the framework of the European Commission's H2020 programme, research bodies in Catalonia have obtained funding to participate in 22 projects of the 37 that have been funded—a very positive figure that reaffirms the leadership of Catalonia within the 5G ecosystem on an international scale.
5GBarcelona will launch a European 5G digital hub based on an open experimental infrastructure in the metropolitan area, which will serve as an urban, citizen-led and technological laboratory for validating 5G technologies and services. It will be an open innovation environment based on the collaboration between agents both public and private that will generate synergies with the ecosystem generated by the Mobile World Congress (MWC) and other technology fairs held in Barcelona. It will also be a stimulus for the existing innovation ecosystem in Barcelona and will help capture foreign investment, boost technological start-ups and develop an industry around 5G.
This year, the European Commission will choose, within the upcoming stages of the 5G PPP programme, a small number of projects whose aim will be to create test and validation environments for 5G. 5GBarcelona wants to be one of them.
Catalonia is not just a powerful force in R&D that is nourished by pioneering companies and bodies; its capital, Barcelona, is the world headquarters of mobile technologies and has the experience of holding the MWC.
Barcelona is currently already acting as a public test bench for the new 5G paradigm through the 5GCity project. The project is participated in by Barcelona City Council, i2CAT, Betevé and CellNex, among others, and its aim is to develop a pilot for the deployment of a neutral 5G network.
In the coming months, the founding members of the 5GBarcelona initiative will begin to implement the action plan that will allow the experimental infrastructure to be deployed, the verticals to which to give support and services to be identified, other entities and companies that wish to become joint participants to be incorporated, and a citizen base to be involved in this open and strategic initiative in Barcelona and Catalonia, making 5GBarcelona the first 5G living lab in Europe and around the world.