A new test environment for 5G is now available at Karlstad University and in the DigitalWell Innovation Hub. The aim is to support companies, entrepreneurs and others who develop innovative services.
5G is the fifth generation mobile communication system and enables higher capacity and bandwidth as well as shorter response time and delay. The improvements facilitate the development of services in many areas, for example care and health, industry and the gaming industry.
The test environment for 5G has been built by Karlstad University and DigitalWell Arena in collaboration with Telia. At the university, devices and services for the 5G network will be able to be tested in Hus 21, Vänern. Connection is also available in the DigitalWell Innovation Hub in Karlstad at Innovation Park.
Enables testing of new innovations
The purpose of the test environment is to develop and test new innovations and applications before it is possible to do so in the public 5G network.
- For example, tests of services that did not work in the existing 4G network, but where 5G can mean new opportunities. It can also be about testing what it means to be on the edge of the network, what happens when you lose coverage and how it affects the user experience, says Stefan Alfredsson, senior lecturer in computer science at Karlstad University.
Stefan Alfredsson in the DigitalWell Innovation Hub, wearing glasses for AR, augmented reality. They enable the display of information that is adapted to what the user is looking at, and is a possible area of use where 5G can provide new opportunities with fast response and high capacity.
The venture is also part of Health Innovation of Sweden (HIOS), which is a collaboration between universities and innovation hubs in Sweden
- The test environment is to be used for research and development in industry, business and the academic world. We want to be at the forefront and offer a test environment where companies and entrepreneurs can develop their 5G services for tomorrow's society, says Josephine Schapiro, project manager at Compare & DigitalWell Arena.
Secure test environment alongside public network
The 5G test environment that has now been inaugurated in Karlstad contains the absolute latest technology and is part of the innovation network for 5G that Telia and Ericsson operate in a number of locations around Sweden. Telia launched the first public 5G network in Karlstad's city center last year, and by 2023 it expects to be able to offer 5G to more than 90 percent of Sweden's population.
- It feels incredibly fun to now launch the first 5G testbed in Värmland. In 2018, we launched Sweden's first 5G network at KTH with Ericsson. That was then the starting point for the sandbox for digital service development we have built in Sweden and where business, the public sector and academia can test completely new technologies and solutions in a safe and secure environment before it is possible or appropriate to do so in the public 5G the network, says Magnus Leonhardt, head of strategy and innovation for Telia's corporate business.
Anna Brunström, professor and leader of 5G research at Karlstad University, cuts the ribbon for the new test environment in Hus 21.
