A total of 21 pilot projects were selected after an earlier call last year. Orange is the largest cell operator with 11 projects on its network.
Last year, the federal government already announced to invest money in national 5G pilot projects. Telecommunications Minister Petra de Sutter wanted to make up for the backlog caused by the years-long postponement of the 5G auction.
De Sutter reports to Belga that the 21 projects proposed today are an important stage in the catch-up movement. “It’s all about innovative applications. For example, one of the projects will enable our fire and rescue services to quickly map the location of a fire, by sending a drone to the location of an emergency call.”
“Another project will allow better monitoring of traffic and ensure greater road safety, thanks to immediate warnings of accidents or the use of intelligent traffic lights.”
According to the minister, the projects should show the public that 5G can have an economic impact as well as a social impact.
