11 innovative 5G pilot projects on Orange Belgium's network have been selected by the Federal Government for subsidies to accelerate 5G in Belgium

Orange Belgium has been selected by the Federal Governmental Department of Economy to conduct 11 Belgian pilot projects supported by 5G which will run in 2023 and 2024. In doing so, Orange Belgium responded to the FPS Economy project call to encourage the creation of new initiatives on 5G. The objective is to accelerate the rollout and the implementation of 5G use cases in Belgium​. The projects have been selected by a jury composed by amongst others the Cabinet De Sutter, FOD Economy, BIPT, BOSA and Belspo.

More than ever, businesses and enterprises are expecting telecom providers to not only offer connectivity at the office and remote but also a broader range of services, as well as guidance on new future proof technologies. In that context, Orange Belgium in consortium with different private companies and/or public services, presents 11 projects using its 5G stand-alone technology. These different projects show how 5G could be beneficial for companies and consumers in different areas such as the healthcare sector, transport and logistics, audiovisual production, military defense and public security, production, smart cities, etc. Thanks to these initiatives, Orange Belgium will be able to facilitate the innovation with local actors and demonstrate the full 5G potential based on its first-class national network. Orange Belgium aims to cover 40% of the population with 5G by 2023 and 90% by 2025.

The 11 5G projects that will be realized in collaboration with Orange Belgium are:

• Mobile Surgical Collaboration and Assistance from Anywhere: Barco Nexxis live is a software solution allowing external experts to communicate in real time with surgeons and the operating room team. 5G will provide access to all data and images in the operating room and can communicate and allow the external expert to give instructions via video but also via annotations.
• Flanders Smart Fieldservices 4 Emergency assistance, healthcare and public safety: E-BO Enterprises, POM West-Vlaanderen, Jan Yperman Ziekenhuis, Howest, KU Leuven and Orange Belgium are analysing various applications of 5G in emergency services, healthcare and public safety.

• Flanders Smart Fieldservices 4 Unmand Inland Shipping: A consortium between Seafar, POM West-Vlaanderen, e-BO Enterprises and Orange Belgium will equip 3 ‘water trucks’ with 5G and optimize the remote captain possibilities through Virtual Reality.
• Remote Operated Container Inland Ship: Together, Seafar and Orange Belgium have the ambition to benchmark the current network to a 5G SA capabilities with an increased bandwidth, coverage and latency. The aim is to equip several remote-controlled barges for container transport on the Albert Canal, with the option to subsequently extend the technology to a larger fleet.
• Flex Production: EVS Broadcast Equipment, together with Orange Belgium, will create a remote audiovisual production flow over 5G between the event location and the centralized production center. That will enhance the flexibility of remote productions and reduce costs and environmental impact.
• Communicate without borders: i-mens & Orange Belgium will set up a 5G network to ensure priority calls for home care staff. This instant communication supports non-native employees to communicate using translation software and videocalls with live translated transcriptions. They can use this for communication with their colleagues and supervisors or clients.
•  Smart City – A smart city is a safe city: Securitas, in partnership with Robovision and Orange Belgium, will use wireless 5G connectivity to access images from multiple angles to contribute to an improved ‘situational awareness’, ‘crowd control’ and ‘mobility’.
• 5G for industrial drone inspections: SkyeBase and Orange Belgium plan to develop together drone inspections of industrial infrastructure in a safe, efficient and quality manner using 5G
• 5GENIBUS: TRES.city, Keysight Technologies and Orange Belgium collaborate to realize a 5G use case for autonomous and connected vehicles for public transportation in Leuven.
• Mission Critical and Security Communication Network for BEL Defense: The program focusses on analyzing the use of 5G private networks for mission critical communication on Defense basis. These networks are used for basis operations and security, for logistical and technical support and as part of crisis plans.
• 5G automation platform: The objective of this project is to develop automation capabilities for 5G use cases on an emerging Ericsson platform in collaboration with Orange Belgium.  

Werner De Laet, Chief Enterprise, Wholesale & Innovation Officer at Orange Belgium, comments: “Since we launched our 5G stand-alone network in the Port of Antwerp, followed by the opening of 2 5G Labs (in Antwerp and Liège) we have been working closely with the industry to make their business more productive, safer and sustainable by using the advantages of 5G private technology. The ecosystem we have been building for years now has turned out to be extremely fruitful to companies, governmental bodies and society in general. We look forward to collaborating with all consortium partners and to deep dive into the different pilot projects that are now validated by the Federal government to boost 5G in Belgium.”