The Catalan capital is postulated to lead the development of new
technology that can boost important advances in areas as varied as
health or mobility.
The Mediterranean flavor of Barcelona dazzles the Mobile World Congress
3G came to bring the Internet to phones much more comfortable and deep than GPRS and GSM. The 4G – the technology that is used at the moment: it surpassed it to popularize the consumption of audiovisual content in a fluid way on smartphones and tablets. And the next stage in the path of the evolution of communications is the 5G, which will provide the ability to transmit information in real time. And it is that when some element is now displayed in supposedly direct – a Facebook Live, for example – there are always a few seconds of delay between the action and the moment in which it is played. A delay that the experts call latency and that the 5G eliminates by reducing it to the minimum expression.
Although it may seem subtle, the change represents an authentic revolution just when the fourth industrial revolution is underway, with the digitalization of production processes and the internet of things. For example, the road to the autonomous vehicle will be paved and will lead to disruptive advances in areas as varied as health or logistics. This special supplement from Avantgarde explains some of the most advanced applications, but there is still a lot of ground to explore. The change of paradigm is about to begin, it is expected that between 2019 and 2020 the foundations will be felt, and the year of the definitive takeoff of 5G should be 2021.
The change supposes a true revolution just when the fourth industrial revolution is under way, with the digitalization of the productive processes and the internet of things
In this context, Barcelona is running to lead the development of this nascent technology thanks to a city alliance: 5G Barcelona. “The objective is to get the city to be placed in the 5G Championships”, defines the 5G director of the Mobile World Capital Barcelona (MWCapital), Eduard Martín. It is a public-private collaboration tool sponsored by MWCapital and of which the City Council of Barcelona, the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), the i2CAT foundation, the Technological Center of Telecommunications of Catalonia ( CTTC) and Atos, among other companies. “Barcelona must be one of the big cities in the deployment of 5G technology. It is not only that the new services are tested here, but that they are consolidated in the territory “, clarifies Martín. It is structured in two aspects: first, “possible services are identified and to develop prototypes and pilot tests”, and secondly, “new technology laboratories” are created with the aim of providing services to companies and entrepreneurs, explains the director of the MWCapital. His other great support is the 5G National Observatory.
The Catalan capital is well located, and this public-private partnership has been working intensively since last year. “In addition to being a city with an evident innovative and entrepreneurial tradition, Barcelona has a good ecosystem for new technologies since the 1992 Olympic Games, it has a specialized district like the 22 @ and it can not be forgotten that with The celebration of the MWC is the mobile world capital and between 2014 and 2016 it was the first European capital of innovation “, argues Eduard Martín.
An alliance of woven city with public-private collaboration and that begins to bear its first fruits
“The 5G will be one of the major themes of the MWC this year and I think that will continue for a couple of more editions,” predicts the MWCapital spokesperson. “The change will be transversal, the 5G is a great vehicle for new services and to improve current ones; Can you imagine living a rock concert or an opera from the point of view of artists through immersive reality? ”
“In 2025 there will be 200 million objects connected to the internet, the 5G will have the ability to manage them,” he adds. It is not just a technology 100 times faster than 4G. The change that is coming is deeper, and Barcelona is ready for the challenge.
EXECUTIVE CHAUFFEUR BARCELONA 