The Telenet innovation center will also focus on collaboration works with a number of partners
Liberty Global has opened the Telenet innovation center in Belgium’s capital Brussels with the aim of testing its new technology for connectivity, entertainment, and value added services.
The new center is Liberty Global’s second European hub dedicated to innovation, joining the Tech Campus near Amsterdam, in the Netherlands.
The new center will primarily focus on internet of things (IoT) solutions and mobile technologies, including the introduction and preparation of 5G networks. In collaboration with a range of partners, Telenet will use the facility to test the upgrading of mobile networks and the launch of 5G in Belgium.
Liberty Global also said that the new center is also equipped with the latest 5G network components and antennas to ensure a premium testing environment, while it will expand into testing entertainment, value added services and customer experiences solutions and technologies in 2018.
Liberty Global highlighted that partnerships will be fundamental to the center’s work, encouraging collaborative innovation with partners and third parties. Chinese vendor ZTE, which has been working with Telenet since 2015, featured a demonstration of a new smart parking app based on NB-IoT, as well a preview of the center’s core network 5G and IoT installation in the ZTE demo room.
“The opening of the Telenet innovation center is an important milestone for Liberty Global. The cutting-edge infrastructure and Telenet’s fully owned mobile network provide the perfect conditions for us to test the products and services that can pave the way towards the GIGAWorld,” said Balan Nair, Liberty Global chief technology and innovation officer.
“With the Telenet innovation center, we want to be ambitious and bring our own innovations to a higher level, but also help shape external innovation projects. I believe in the absolute strength of partnerships, so I am convinced that with our model of collaborative innovation and with the help of partners like ZTE, we can bring the best broadband and media technology to Belgium,” said John Porter, CEO of Telenet.
Liberty Global has operations in more than 30 countries across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. The Liberty Global Group operates in 12 European countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media, Unitymedia, Telenet and UPC. Belgium operator Telenet is fully controlled by Liberty Global.
