A test network for 5G wireless communications was launched in the northern Finnish city of Oulu on Thursday. At first the network will operate as a closed network on the premises of the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, but in June it will open as a public test environment on the Oulu university campus. Eventually it will be expanded to cover other parts of the city on an open basis.
The 5G network is a joint project of VTT, the University of Oulu and more than a dozen other partners including the city of Oulu, the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority, Nokia and Yle.
“Within the test network, we are researching and developing new technologies, based on which we will build a full 5G test network environment. This will enable long term co-operation between the actors involved in the wireless communication ecosystem. With the help of this research project, we can retain our leading position in the international development of 5G,” says VTT project manager Atso Hekkala.
The network will be used to test and pilot new types of network services. The new generation technology is expected to quickly take over the wireless data transfer field as the current 3G and 4G networks are becoming overloaded.
According to VTT, the more flexible 5G will ensure high-quality multimedia and cloud services, enable the future Internet of Things, and lower material and energy consumption.