The 5GMED project is carrying out four pilot projects, one in the railway field and three more in the Mediterranean corridor motorway, with the aim of providing a model for the sustainable deployment of smart networks for the connected and automated mobility of the future in Europe. This section of the border between France and Spain is strategic, since it supports 55% of the road traffic between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of Europe, as well as 65% of the rail traffic between both sides of the Pyrenees.
5GMED deploys an infrastructure that provides advanced connectivity services in a scalable and reproducible manner across transportation routes and tests a wide range of technologies applied to mobility, including on-board and in-infrastructure sensors, 5G networks, and intelligence Artificial (AI). Specifically, the use cases developed at 5GMED focus on remote driving of autonomous vehicles, advanced traffic management, high-speed connectivity services on rail during the cross-border shift, and high-quality infotainment services (such as augmented reality and 360º videos) for the connected vehicle.
The consortium that carries out 5GMED is coordinated by Cellnex Telecom and has 21 partners from seven countries that represent the telecommunications sector, such as Vodafone or Hispasat; in the transport and mobility sector, with Abertis Autopistas, SNCF and Línea Figueres Perpignan S.A., Anadolu Isuzu, Valeo; solution providers such as Axbryd, Nearby Computing, Atos, Athens Technology Center, Comsa, and Terra3D; the Eight Bells consultancy, research institutions such as CTTC, the i2CAT Foundation –responsible for the technical management of the project–, IRT-Saint Exupéry and Vedecom; and Mobile World Capital Barcelona.
The project, with a global investment of 16 million euros, 75% of which is financed by the European Commission through its Horizon2020 Program, also has the support of the public administrations of both countries, including the Occitanie Region and the Generalitat of Catalonia.
To analyze the importance of 5GMED for the mobility of the future, Diálogos en La Vanguardia, with the collaboration of Cellnex, organized a session in which the Cellnex Innovation Project Manager and project coordinator, José López Luque; the person in charge of the line of research in vehicular communications of i2CAT and technical director of 5GMED, Francisco Vázquez Gallego; the Innovation Project Manager of Cellnex and Network Deployment Leader of 5GMED, Judit Bastida; the head of systems innovation at Comsa, Manuel Alfageme; the CIO of Mobile World Capital, Eduard Martín; the Toll Road Innovation Manager, Xavier Daura, and the founder of 101 Ventures, Rita Almela.
“The project, which develops the technological infrastructure based on 5G for cross-border mobility services, will end on August 31, 2024,” announced the project coordinator, José López Luque. Cellnex’s Innovation Project Manager highlighted the relevance of “giving continuity to services between countries and supporting the deployment of 5G” in areas that currently have even less connectivity. Additionally, López Luque pointed out that “the role of companies like Cellnex Telecom, acting as a ‘neutral host’, will help boost the deployment of 5G coverage in areas where traditional operators currently do not reach.”
5GMED will demonstrate how “the mobility of the future can be implemented with different types of cutting-edge technologies that are based on 5G networks, such as ‘edge computing’, which makes it easier to connect many devices”, added the Cellnex and Network Deployment Innovation Project Manager Leader of 5GMED. The expert also stressed that “the deployment of 5G is tested in a controlled environment to subsequently implement it.”
One of the technological challenges is found precisely in the section of the border. Specifically, the great challenge lies in “reducing service interruption times when crossing the border”, which can be decisive both in the case of the connected and autonomous autonomous vehicle and the railway, as explained by the technical director of 5GMED, Francisco Vazquez Gallego.
“Innovation is a strategic and transversal pillar of Autopistas through which we project new solutions for the mobility of the future”, assured the Innovation Manager of Autopistas. In this sense, he explained that “the future of infrastructures depends on its digitization and 5GMED provides all the ingredients to deploy different services for a more cooperative, connected and automated mobility. The three use cases on highways will serve to investigate the application of technologies in infrastructures that will benefit road safety and sustainability”.
On the railway, “the passenger will benefit from practically unlimited access to the Internet for professional use and entertainment, the rail transport operator will obtain lower costs for better and new services for its operation”, stressed the head of innovation systems at Comsa . “The economic viability and attractiveness of the railways will improve with the new rail connectivity developed,” he added.
The CIO of Mobile World Capital celebrated the potential of 5GMED to “generate added value for society thanks to the commitment to technology transfer”, which will allow “creating new opportunities that feed back into the exploitation phase of the project”.
This collaboration between the ecosystem and the different actors is “key” to “add knowledge, promote technology transfer, innovate and develop better advanced technologies, create better solutions, attract talent and have a positive impact on society, particularly in mobility and connectivity” , agreed Rita Almela, founder of 101 Ventures, who through the ‘venture builder’ 5G Ventures, promotes relevant 5G startups such as Neutroon, BE-IN-G and Blue Guardian.
5GMED is “a very important project that will contribute to present and future mobility”, predicted its technical director, Francisco Vázquez Gallego. “It will provide continuity to services between countries and support for the deployment of the network”, concluded the project coordinator and Cellnex Innovation Project Manager.
