Leti, a research institute of CEA Tech, has announced that the European and South Korean project, 5GCHAMPION, will demonstrate the world’s first 5G platform from Feb 20-22, during the 2018 Winter Games.
The 5GCHAMPION consortium, which includes 21 universities, research institutes and companies from Europe and South Korea, is supported by the European Commission and the Korean Ministry of Science and ICT. They have developed a fully integrated intercontinental 5G network proof of concept that has been deployed at the PyeongChang Olympic host city, Gangneung, two years ahead of the official launch of 5G networks.
Visitors to the Winter Games on Yulgok Street, also called IoT Street, will be able to experience the network while riding the 5GCHAMPION bus between event venues in Gangneung. With virtual-reality glasses, they will be able to "visit" a site in Oulu, Finland, using the 5G intercontinental connection developed by the project teams. The data-transfer speed on this 5G mobile network is 2.5 Gbps.
The project team also investigated new 5G waveforms for satellite communication and algorithms to enable 5G “while on the go” and traveling at up to 500 km/h, such as on high-speed trains.
The EU and Korean partners will be sponsoring a symposium, “From 5G Challenge to 5GCHAMPION Trials at the IoT Street near the Winter Olympic Venue”, in Seoul, Feb 23. Leading companies from Europe and South Korea, including Nokia, Orange Japan, Thales Alenia Space, KT, SKT and Samsung, will join international institutes, such as ETRI and Leti, for presentations. Supported by the Korean Institute of ICT Promotion and the Ministry of Science and ICT, as well as the French and Finnish Embassies in Korea, this event will present participants’ outlooks on how 5G technology will shape the future of communication, industry and society, and the value of cross-border collaborations.
