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‘’5G Techritory’’ showcases the opportunities of 5G technology in the Baltic Sea region and beyond

October 10, 2018

Baltic Sea Region 5G Ecosystem Forum ‘’5G Techritory’’ shed light on the 5G topic andits latest technology opportunities worldwide and especially in the Baltic Sea region that awaits us soon. The Forum brought together 700 senior participants and industry experts from all over the world, discussing and sharing the foresight of the new industry that is already introducing so many possibilities to both the society and businesses. The Forum brought together key participants and led to important policy milestones, such as signing the Digital Baltic Road memorandum between the three Baltic States, as well as the first live test of the 5G network by LMT and Nokia.

 

During the forum, the Minister of Transport of Latvia Uldis Augulis, together with the Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology of Estonia Rene Tammist, signed a Memorandum of Understanding of the Baltic States on the Development of Interconnected and Automated Driving and 5G Technology in the Via Baltica digital corridor, or the Digital Baltic Road in short, which will be signed later on by the Minister of Transport and Communications of Lithuania Rokas Masiulis. Implementing the Memorandum, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia will support pilot projects for intelligent transport systems in conjunction with the accelerated deployment of the 5G mobile communications network on the European route E67 Tallinn – Riga –Kaunas – border of Lithuania/Poland. An important part of the commitment is to ensure cross-border cooperation in particular so that the established systems could operate unrestrictedly, both in border areas and along the entire transport corridor.

 

For the first time in Latvia during the event, Latvian Mobile Telephone (LMT), in cooperation with Nokia and Intel, demonstrated the first live test of the 5G network. Intel provided the Intel® 5G Mobile Trial Platform to help ensure that the 5G-compliant specifications for spectrum, band, capacity and handover solutions are met. Additionally, LMT also showcased its other technological innovations such as drones equipped with Computer Vision and Computer Hearing, developed in collaboration with Riga Technical University.

 

‘’In Latvia, we have planned to introduce the 5G protonetwork already at the beginning of the next year as soon as the 5G devices would be available. ”5G Techritory” forum gave us the opportunity to collect the leading expert experience from all over the world on how to practically use the advantages of the future mobile communications network. That raised the awareness about the necessity of cooperation both between various field enterprises and in transnational level as well,’’ Juris Binde, President and Chairman of the Management Board of Latvian Mobile Telephone (LMT) explains.

 

The Forum brought together the key global players of the 5G industry, such as the European policymakers, public officials, business leaders, investors, industry experts, new companies and academic representatives, including more than 70 high-level speakers from Europe, Asia and USA. During the Forum such topics as the general regulation of 5G network in Europe and all over the world were negotiated, the possibilities and financing of innovations within 5G network were discussed, as well as the ideas about 5G potential and its general role as it will be a global game changer in many fields. Related possibilities to create new 5G business models in such fields as the smart city, smart mobility, smart healthcare and Industry 4.0 were summed-up in the forum two days as well.

 

The Forum helped to facilitate establishing potential new partnerships between governments, municipalities, business support organizations, universities, ICT companies and other partners with ‘’5G Techritory’’ as a new open platform for cross-border, cross-level and cross-sectoral cooperation for the development of a healthy 5G ecosystem in the Baltic Sea region, which could serve as a role model for building the European Gigabit Society.

 

As Roberto Viola, the Director-General of Communication Network, Content and Technologies of the European Commission, said in the Forum: ‘’The ‘’5G Techritory’’ Forum is an excellent opportunity to discuss with all stakeholders the progress Europe has been making in 5G deployment. The European 5G Observatory that went live today shows that we areon a good way, but a lot needs to be done, e.g. to provide spectrum fast. I would also like to congratulate the Baltic States for the signing of the Memorandum giving birth to the Via Baltica 5G corridor.’’

 

‘’The ‘’5G Techritory’’ was a great success for us. It was a pleasure to exchange and network on a high-level with representatives of international organizations and companies who highly influence the 5G world. Rohde & Schwarz were happy to contribute our thought leadership around the topics of 5G smart city and smart mobility. Thanks to the organizers for providing the platform. We look forward to joining again in the next ‘’5G Techritory’’ Forum,’’ Anne Stephan, Vice President of Wireless Communication Market Segment of Rohde & Schwarz emphasized.

 

‘’’’5G Techritory’’ can become an important arena when the Nordic-Baltic region leads the way in 5G development. I believe in the concept of bringing together politicians and sector representatives from the region discussing what is needed to stimulate 5G development. However, for the next ‘’5G Techritory’’ in 2019, the organisers must improve on gender equality. I expect to see a much better gender balance among keynote speakers, panellists and moderators,’’ Susanna Mattsson, Deputy Director, Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation of Sweden, and Chairman of the High-Level Group,Nordic Council of Ministers on Digitalisation expressed her thoughts.

 

‘’’’5G Techritory’’ has clearly shown Latvia´s willingness and capacity to be at the centre of 5G technology development. The Forum was a great success and has a good potential to become a stakeholders´ platform where governments, agencies and companies can meet to discuss and find solutions to the challenges we face in the digital area. It is of special importance that the Forum helps to strengthen the Nordic-Baltic positions increating a dynamic and functioning 5G ecosystem in the Baltic Sea region area,’’ Stefan Eriksson, Director of Nordic Council of Ministers’ Officein Latvia added.

 

More than 700 attendees in the Forum discussed on how the 5G technology would start a new era where everything would be connected within the smart city and smart mobility, how it would builda new infrastructure, ensuring a better life for people and society. The question was also examined, what would be the issues that have to be solved before then. The main conclusions were that this is a wide field for new business models, as well as there have to be achieved a few things inregulations before the initial implementation of the 5G network worldwide for public and commercial use. Also, the 5G business models have to be developed prior to a wider 5G launch, so the new technology could be used almost instantly. The discussions on various topics were initiated by such panellists as the President of Qualcomm Incorporated EMEA Enrico Salvatori, the Director-General of Communication Network, Content and Technologies of the European Commission Roberto Viola, Senior Vice President of Cisco Peter Karlströmer, Senior Vice President of the European Market of Nokia Corporation Markus Borchert, President of 5G Product Line of Huawei Technologies Chaobin Yang, Vice-President – Deputy Head of Global Services and Operations and Head of Group Networks of Telia Company AB Gabriela Styf Sjöman and others.

 

The Forum was organized by the Electronic Communication Office of Latvia in close cooperation with the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development of the Republic of Latvia, Nordic Council of Ministers, 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) and International Telecommunication Union(ITU), Latvijas Mobilais Telefons (LMT) as a strategic partner, Cisco, Huawei, Qualcomm, Rohde & Schwarz, Eesti Meedia and other partners.

Source: The Electronic Communication Office of Latvia