The Portuguese city of Aveiro has hosted a demonstration exercise simulating the potential uses of 5G connectivity for emergency workers.
The exercise marked the official launch of 5G in Aveiro and was conducted by telecommunications innovation firm Altice Labs in collaboration with Ericsson. Altice Labs hosted the demonstration at its facilities, with a simulated car crash offering the opportunity to show the increased effectiveness of emergency services when communicating using 5G due to its high bandwidth, lower latency and its potential to facilitate increased user travel speeds.
Alcino Lavrador, managing director of Altice Labs, said: “Technology has no meaning if it is not for improving people’s lives. We want to demystify 5G and [there is no better way] than through these hands-on demonstrations. We want to serve as a platform for these technologies to be used by people.”
The demonstration, which was attended by representatives of Aveiro’s civil protection, police, health and fire services, included the 5G-enabled deployment of a drone which provided images of the accident site; as well as equipment providing real time updates on victims’ vital information and health status.
Luís Alveirinho, chief technology officer (CTO) for Altice Portugal, added: “This demonstration is yet another embodiment of the advantages of the 5G network in the future, in a territory that will benefit and continue to evolve with this technology. 5G is clearly an opportunity for Portugal, an opportunity that Altice will not miss. The intense deployment of fibre optics and the modernisation of base stations in recent years across the country puts us in a more comfortable position in the evolution to 5G.”
Aveiro is projected to see full citywide 5G coverage by 2020, in adherence with targets set by the European Commission whereby at least one city in each EU Member State must implement 5G coverage by 2020, in order to support technological innovation and skills development.
