Altice’s innovation arm, Altice Labs, held a simulation exercise in Portugal’s Aveiro to test the use of 5G in emergency situations.
The event (watch the video) was staged using an experimental network, in collaboration with Ericsson, and simulated a car crash to demonstrate how 5G’s lower latency, higher bandwidth and faster speeds can support emergency workers.
The initiative, which included Aveiro City Civil Protection Office, the Public Security Police, two Aveiro Volunteer Fire Corporations, the Baixo Vouga Hospital Center and the Coimbra Military Health Center, demonstrated how 5G can support drone footage from accident sites and the delivery of vital information about victims and their condition in real-time.
Demystifying 5G
Alcino Lavrador, managing director of Altice Labs, said, “Technology has no meaning if it is not for improving people’s lives.”
“We want to demystify 5G and [there is no better way] than through these hands-on demonstrations. We want to serve as a platform for these technologies to be used by people,” he said.
Luís Alveirinho, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Altice Portugal, added, “This demonstration is yet another embodiment of the advantages of the 5G network in the future, in a territory that will benefit and continue to evolve with this technology. 5G is clearly an opportunity for Portugal, an opportunity that Altice will not miss.
The intense deployment of fibre optics and the modernisation of base stations in recent years across the country puts us in a more comfortable position in the evolution to 5G.”
This event also marks the launch of the 5G experimental network for the City of Aveiro, which is aiming to be fully covered by 5G by 2020.