At Mobile World Congress 2020, those attending the show will get a chance to experience 5G before even hitting the tradeshow as 5G Barcelona has installed 5G coverage in railways in the city.
The Plaça Espanya, Magòria-La Campana, Ildefons Cerdà and Europa Fira stations in Barcelona are part of the FGC railway and the project is part of a network of laboratories for testing 5G technology in the city by 5G Barcelona, a public-private partnership for the adoption of 5G technology.
5G Barcelona claims that the railways are one of first in the world with a commercial 5G network that covers the station, the platform, the foyers for the departure and arrival stations as well as the tunnel that connects four stops. After the pilot project is over, the installation will remain in operation as a global testing laboratory allowing for improvements in railway logistics by optimizing railway management and the creation of new applications to improve both customer service and safety. These might include personalized multimedia entertainment, real-time information systems and an increase in capacities of remote services for passengers.
For MWC 2020 Barcelona, the infrastructure for the 5G railway network will be ready and the first application to be tested will be an augmented reality hologram volumetric assistant that welcomes MWC attendees. The hologram will be used in two test cases: first, for sending high-quality content from the cloud; and second, for testing the internet of things (IoT) at times of high public influx in stations and on trains.
5G Barcelona plans to extend the 5G infrastructure to the entire FGC railway network in the future.
In the mid-term, the 5G railway will be used to explore solutions for industry, mobility, railway logistics and for control of the movements of passenger and goods. The connected stretch will also help improve user experience with 5G and allow companies to test offerings in a real environment and to reduce the time involved in launching products to market, 5G Barcelona said.
