Toulouse Métropole, representing the greater city region in and around the southern city of Toulouse in France, and one of 20 metropolis regions in the country, has appointed France-based firm Transatel, owned by Japanese outfit NTT, to provide a public 5G extension to the city’s private 5G infrastructure for use by law enforcement agencies and emergency services. The public/private 5G facility has been put live in time for the Rugby World Cup, being held in France, which starts today (September 8) and runs until October 28.
Toulouse will host the largest ‘fan zone’ in France during the Rugby World Cup. Transatel, positioned as a globally-active mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) for cellular roaming services, won the gig via a tender process. Its multi-operator SIM cards will provide public/private cellular connectivity for police officers, ambulance drivers, and firefighters as they patrol the city during the rugby tournament; the implication is Transatel will continue to provide service beyond the term of the event also.
Toulouse Métropole has developed a “sovereign” city-owned private high-connectivity-via 5G (HI5) cellular network with funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF Digital), the European Union scheme to support public and private investments in digital infrastructure through to 2027. The city authority has built a shared multi-service 5G and IP/MPLS infrastructure to offer 5G-paced mobile access services to innovation zones and improve municipal services, a press statement said.
The HI5 network is geared to provide group communications during public events, real-time analysis of video streams for security purposes, mobile broadband on the city metro in and in rural areas, and also a network facility to train for students in 5G applications. Transatel has been drafted in to provide handover to sundry public 5G networks beyond the bounds of its private 5G network – to “ensure the interoperability of its infrastructure with mobile operators’ networks, to guarantee the continuity of service required by its users, securely and at a reasonable cost”.
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A statement explained: “The proliferation of ‘private’ 4G/5G [networks] in factories, hospitals, stadiums, universities, ports and airports is making interoperability of private and public cellular networks essential, especially for emergency services… [which] are constantly on the move, and need to be able to stay connected and make calls without interruption as they pass through areas respectively covered by public and/or private cellular networks.”
Joe di Marco, in charge of the digital infrastructure organizing authority at Toulouse Métropole, said: “Right from the start of the Hi5 experiment, we wanted to improve our network connectivity and sovereignty by relying on mobile carriers’ 5G networks, which is why we chose Transatel for the operability of their solution and their ability to adapt quickly to our specific needs and requirements. Initial continuity tests have been conclusive, and we look forward to future phases of experimentation.”
Jacques Bonifay, co-founder and chief executive at Transatel, said: “We are delighted to have been selected by Toulouse Métropole and to contribute to the smooth running of this World Cup. This demonstrates the relevance of our technical solution for manufacturers and local authorities who need to operate beyond the perimeter of their own private 4G/5G networks.”