5GBarcelona positions the city as a pioneering 5G laboratory and promotes practical uses in strategic sectors

• Mobile World Capital Barcelona has presented 5G applications in industry and healthcare at the GMSA Mobile World Congres
• ACCIONA, ORANGE, SEAT, Hospital Clínic and AIS Channel, among others, join the 5GBarcelona initiative
• Carlos Grau, CEO of Mobile World Capital Barcelona, received an official visit from Andrus Ansip, Vice-President of the European Commission; Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society at the European Commission; Josep Maria Bartomeu, President of Futbol Club Barcelona; and Colin Wilcock, President of the 5G Infrastructure Association

March 1, 2018

Mobile World Capital Barcelona (MWCapital) has boosted 5GBarcelona by signing cooperation agreements and presenting pilot projects with key international institutions. The initiative has positioned the city as a pioneering 5G laboratory and has once again emphasized the significance of public-private partnerships in making Barcelona the leading 5G hub in southern Europe.

5GBarcelona has presented applications in industry and healthcare in the framework of the GMSA Mobile World Congress. These pilot projects are a practical demonstration of the potential 5G technology has in strategic sectors.

The first 5GBarcelona use cases

MWCapital has signed a cooperation agreement with ACCIONA to promote the development of industrial pilot tests in the construction, renewable energy, water and services sectors. The first projects under the agreement will be implemented in conjunction with ORANGE and will involve applying 5G solutions in driverless machinery on civil engineering projects and for logistics tasks in automated industrial plants. Applying 5G technology in the construction sector will reduce occupational hazards, shorten delivery times and allow static teams of specialists to manage and operate the machinery remotely without the need to visit the site.

In the healthcare sector, MWCapital has reached an agreement with Hospital Clínic and AIS Channel, a company founded by renowned surgeon Dr. Antonio de Lacy, to carry out a pilot project that will allow real time remote-access surgery to be performed thanks to 5G technology. The use case project has three phases: the first will focus on testing remote access between the Hospital Clínic operating theatre and other areas of the same hospital; the second phase contemplates collaboration between different hospitals in Barcelona; and the third phase will test remote access between the hospital and a moving vehicle (an ambulance).

Official visits as a show of international support to 5GBarcelona

Carlos Grau, CEO of Mobile World Capital Barcelona, received an official visit from Andrus Ansip, Vice-President of the European Commission; Josep Maria Bartomeu, President of Futbol Club Barcelona; Colin Wilcock, President of the 5G Infrastructure Association; and Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society at the European Commission.

5GBarcelona has also received the support of major corporations such as SEAT, Intel, Ericsson, Qualcomm, Huawei, Eurona, Juniper and Xona Partners, among others.

The meetings and use cases presented this week at the GMSA Mobile World Congress are a demonstration of the general support that the 5GBarcelona initiative enjoys. It is promoted by the Regional Government of Catalonia, Barcelona City Hall, Mobile World Capital Barcelona, the i2CAT Foundation, the CTTC (Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya), Atos and the UPC (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya), and is also backed by the Ministry of Energy, Tourism and Digital Agenda, Red.es and GSMA. The initiative will convert the city of Barcelona into a leading 5G hub in Europe.