Vicomtech, i2CAT and Gradiant present the results of Open-VERSO, the Cervera Network of Excellence for 5G and future mobile communications, to the companies

The conference "5G technologies and their applications in companies" was held on November 24 at the San Sebastián Technology Park, next to the headquarters of Vicomtech, coordinator of the network. The conference brought together representatives of companies aware of the impact and benefits that 5G technologies can have and researchers in the field of wireless communications.

Julián Flórez, General Director of Vicomtech, and Alberto Fernández, Director of Technology and Innovation of the Basque Government, officially opened the event. In his speech, Julián Flórez emphasized the role of research centers when it comes to observing, evolving and adapting communications to meet the needs of companies. Alberto Fernández highlighted the importance of 5G technologies as key enablers. He also stressed the need for the shared strategies promoted by the different institutions to be aligned with the needs of the industry, to which he requested investment promotion, making institutional support available for these initiatives.

Next, Norberto Ojinaga, director of Technological Solutions at Más Móvil / Euskaltel, described the current state of the standard and industrial regulations for the implementation of 5G. In his presentation, he explained the planned roadmap for 3GPP and the launches planned for 2023 and 2024, in which substantial improvements are expected at different levels. In addition, he described the situation of the spectrum in Spain, which is still in the debate phase prior to its approval for industrial use (for example, in the 26 GHz band). On the other hand, he mentioned the relevance that private networks and the new players that are coming into play in the ecosystem are acquiring and that, together, require solutions adapted to each specific reality. Among the use cases that he presented, among others, those being developed in the 5G Euskadi project and other cases of mission-critical communications, logistics and ports stand out. All the aspects discussed show that there is a demand for experimentation in pilots and, therefore, a need and opportunities for the development of 5G technologies and their corresponding applications.

Next, it was the turn of the Open-VERSO project research team. Speakers were Ángel Martín, senior researcher at Vicomtech and project coordinator, Pablo González, technical director of signal processing at Gradiant, and Jesús Alonso-Zárate, director of Strategy and European R&D Programs at i2CAT.

First of all, Ángel Martín introduced the context of the project, from its objectives and the role of the participating centers to the results achieved, underlining the open approach and the experimental nature of the Cervera Network of Excellence both in terms of technologies and ecosystem.

Next, Pablo González delved into the way infrastructures are connected and how the solution architecture includes all the systems necessary for advanced, dynamic and intelligent network management.

Finally, Jesús Alonso-Zarate showed how the technologies that make up the project enablers provide added value to different demonstrators, so that disparate industries and sectors can understand how the project results can be translated to their needs.

The day continued with an interesting debate held around the round table “From the potential of research to the reality of companies. Current situation and future impact of 5G technologies in the industry”, moderated by Luis Pérez Roca, director of Gradiant's Advanced Communications Area. The session included the contributions of the participating experts: Jorge Vázquez, Projects Virtual Factory of Gestamp, Fernando Molina, of 5G Ventures, Norberto Ojinaga, director of Technological Solutions of Más Móvil / Euskaltel) and Jesús Alonso-Zárate, as president of the 5G for Connected and Automated Mobility – Working Group – 6G IA.

To conclude the event, Mikel Zorrilla, Vicomtech's director of Digital Media & Communications, summarized the main ideas and messages that emerged throughout the day and highlighted the importance of continuing research and development of 5G and future technologies. , as well as their corresponding applications in the different verticals.

Note: If you could not join us during the day, you can view all the presentations HERE.