Umeå will be the first city in Sweden to become a testbed for 5G – making Sweden one of the leaders in the development of 5G.
Umeå will be the first city in Sweden to become a testbed for 5G – making Sweden one of the leaders in the development of 5G.
A 5G-university and the first 5G-university hospital in Europe, Umeå is taking lead in the development of 5G and making it accessible for everyone who is interested in developing solutions based on the technology.
First off, what’s special about the 5G-technology?
– 5G can handle large amounts of data in new and more advanced ways. It provides extremely fast connection with a very low delay, greater security than today's network solutions and to a lower cost and energy use. This creates the necessary infrastructure to Internet of Things (IoT) and new opportunities using sensors, computers, smartphones, watches, eyewear and cameras – where the digital reality in real-time is combined with virtual reality and augmented reality. The 5G-technology creates new opportunities for a smarter, more connected world.
The project “Umeå5G” is a collaboration between Umeå Municipality, Västerbotten County Council, Umeå Energy UmeNet, Umeå University and Umeå Science Park.
– We hope the test environment will lead to an increased interest from industries and enterprises and, in turn, startups that are connected to 5G will appear. It’s not the 5G itself that is interesting, it’s the possibilities that the technology creates and how we use it to develop our society, says Anders Kjellander, CEO at Umeå Science Park.
This project focuses on building the infrastructure for 5G in Umeå – starting with the university and the university hospital but also looking to create a space where future products and services can be developed and tested.
We asked Nils-Olof Forsgren, CEO at Uminova Innovation, what he thinks this venture will mean for the startup scene in Umeå.
– A big venture like this mean that startups and big corporations can test solutions, products and services in a much bigger scale and work together side by side. And this will further strengthen our position as a strong tech region where we develop solutions for the future.
Peter Eriksson, the Swedish minister for digital development sees great opportunities with an entire city as a 5G-test bed:
– Many companies and industries will be interested in such a venture. And 5G is also very interesting and exciting because we don’t know what will come of it. But a venture like this will help and simplify future development and investments in 5G-technology.