5G: the new motorway for cities

5G is much more than fast internet: in fact, it’s in smart city environments that this technology really shines. Citymesh aims to make 5G applications more tangible and convert the concept of smart cities from an abstract, theoretical concept into a specific and practical tool. That’s why, in this blog article, we’re showing you how we’ve designed 5G: a motorway.

5G AS THE MOTORWAY

To explain the benefits of the 5G motorway, we must start with a short description of what’s behind this design. Citymesh and DIGI both use the same antenna and the same radio. In an effort to reduce strain on the environment and add less new antennas, we aim to maximise our reuse of existing antennas. However, what makes our design unique in Europe are the two cores: one from Citymesh and one from DIGI.

The greatest advantage of these two separate cores is the fact that B2B and B2C are entirely separate. The motorway metaphor clarifies the difference with traditional operators. Other operators have an intermittent or solid line between their B2B and B2C lanes: a division that is easy to cross in practice.

Citymesh, on the other hand, makes it impossible to cross this line. As if there’s a wall between the B2B and B2C lane. Citymesh takes care of the B2B lane, and DIGI looks after B2C lane. In this way, B2C traffic can never end up using the B2B lane. So, if more people than usual are using the network, for example, during an event, this does not affect B2B. Cities with many inhabitants can also offer this kind of high-quality network.

Going back to the motorway metaphor: 5G gives cities a private lane, as it were, for priority vehicles, representing critical communication. No other traffic is allowed on this lane. This means there’s no question of congestion: fluid communication is guaranteed. This principle is known as 'network slicing'.

THE IMPORTANCE OF A SEPARATE LANE FOR CITIES

Communication is what’s most important in an emergency: this is demonstrated time and time again by the masses of calls, text messages and online messages following a (natural) disaster. That’s why it’s essential to leave room for critical communication in smart-city connectivity. Thanks to the design of the Citymesh and DIGI network, the number of users doesn’t matter. Thanks to the two separate cores and individual bandwidth, that private lane we just mentioned, there is always a margin for essential communication. Citymesh gives smart cities reassurance: that the emergency services are connected, that the city’s safety is guaranteed, that innovation is possible. In short: the reassurance of being able to communicate whatever happens.

THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

Citymesh and DIGI are working together to build a new national network. The big advantage is that there are no legacy components. The network is targeting 4G and 5G right from day one. Less restrictions, more opportunities. Benefiting both the smart city and its inhabitants. Residents can enjoy a network that is not only cheaper, but also adapted to our modern lifestyle in every way. Meanwhile, the city and its services remain unaffected by the large number of users. Once again: B2B (services to the city) and B2C (services to city residents) are entirely separate.

The classic benefits of 5G are ideally suited to smart cities.

• The larger capacity means that more devices and sensors can be connected to the network.
• Thanks to the ultra-low delay between the dispatch and receipt of a signal/task (the so-called latency) and high speed, new technologies, such us self-driving vehicles, are supported and (video) communication in real time is efficient.