Could Dumfries become the Dundee of 5G?
A new proving ground for private 5G networks has opened in Dumfries in Scotland as the national S5GConnect programme begins to mobilise. The ‘rural hub’ in the south of the country will act as both a development lab and a showcase of the technology as operators and development agencies bring industries and service providers together.
In November another hub of invention will open in the Forth Valley in the centre of the country. The labs and demos are open to participation by all business sizes and types, say the organisers of the Scotland 5G Centre hubs.
The regional test beds are part of the S5GConnect programme which aims to expedite the adoption of 5G across the country through the creation of innovation districts.
Mobile Firth strategy
Activities at the Crichton Centre in Dumfries began on November 1st and the first visitors encountered large format holograms as they were virtually ‘teleported’ into the hills and glens of Scotland’s breath-taking landscape. This ‘holoportation’ is also being used to show how remote healthcare services could be developed. Viewers had a live, immersive and interactive conversation with a clinician in London. The potential of 5G powered telepresence is initially being used to demonstrate how healthcare, business meetings and education can work across borders.
The programme includes 5G in a box, an initiative to solve the problem of poor coverage for rural areas with end-to-end 5G network capacity. Another application uses augmented reality (AR) to create smart tourism, an experience in which visitors can be transported anywhere. The centre is currently whisking augmented tourists out of Scotland to Cambridge to admire the King’s College Cathedral ceiling mural. A mixed reality experience of a life-size Stonehenge is another immersive experience.
Connect Hub fertilises creative farming
While familiarising rural communities with 5G’s potential the Scotland 5G Centre will be forging connections with industry experts, local businesses and public authorities, said CEO Paul Coffey.
“It’s an exciting day as our first 5G network goes live in our rural Connect Hub – creating investment opportunities and use cases for this transforming technology,” said Coffey.
S5GConnect has engaged with over 300 businesses in the last 4 months alone according to its head, Lara Moloney. “Providing an environment to test and trial 5G marks an important step forward as we work with businesses and network operators to adopt 5G in Scotland,” said Moloney.
Dundee shows how tech awakens talent
The live holographic displays, transmitting real-time 3D images, could be used to promote Scotland’s games playing creatives. The city of Dundee, on the east coast, exemplifies hope technology can awaken talent. Now one of the world’s hot beds of computer games developers, the city’s talent for gaming has been traced by historians back to the 1980s, when one of earliest computer gaming systems, the Spectrum ZX, was manufactured locally. The high rate of computer ownership among locals spawned a generation of games writers and Dundee’s pool of talent has endured to this today. Now Moloney hopes to repeat that achievement with 5G.