5G to transform smart grid, transportation, massive IoT and media delivery
5G is billed as the great enabler–ultra high capacity and ultra low latency communications will blow open digital transformation for a variety of industrial verticals. But 5G isn’t standardized yet, and at scale commercial deployments are a few years away. In the meantime, telecom vendors are working to articulate these applications to ensure rapid adoption and monetization. To that end, Nokia has announced a new project called WIVE, WIreless for VErticals, with an emphasis on services for power utilities, transformation, massive internet of things support and media and entertainment.
The idea is run the project for two years during which testing and pilot projects will explore delivery of the requirements of various future applications of next generation network technologies. Another primary goal is to understand the spectral needs associated with various use cases, some of which require little capacity and latency, smart metering for instance, and others that will need everything 5G has to offer like remote industrial control.
Mikko Uusitalo, head of wireless advanced technologies research, said, “WIVE…provides us with greater insight into the requirements and opportunities for experimentation to test our solutions.” Uusitalo also serve as the projects industrial coordinator. “Industry collaboration is essential in fostering innovation around 5G, and for enabling different industries to take full advantage of the faster connections that 5G promises.”
Launch partners include Tekes, a Finnish investor in technology-facing projects; carrier Teila; and ABB, which plays heavily in various energy services. “A substantially higher level of automation, together with reliable, low-latency communication between nodes in a power distribution grid, are prerequisites to improving the reliability of supply and integrating a large amount of distributed, renewable and intermittent generation,” Dick Kronman, manager of ABB’s Grid Automation Solutions group said. “The development of energy policies, legislation and regulation all drive smarter and greener grids, and the transition will be facilitated by new technologies, such as 5G.”
To the media and entertainment piece, Telia is “looking at evolving media consumption patterns and developing revolutionary spectator experiences, for example at Telia 5G Arena in Helsinki and as part of our agreement for Finnish Ice Hockey League media rights,” Janne Koistinen, director of Telia’s 5G program said.” Beyond media and entertainment, “Machine-type connectivity and ultra-reliable communications are just as crucial for building smarter traffic, manufacturing solutions and other digitalization initiatives, which are topical for our B2B customers.”
