Carinthia as the trailblazer

5G in regular operation - in the flagship region of Lake Wörthersee

As a visionary region that is ready for the future, Carinthia is already working full steam ahead on digitalisation and has entered upon a digitalisation partnership with Chinese technology giant ZTE. The goal was clear - to strengthen the mobility, tourism and business location of Carinthia on a lasting basis, using 5G technology, and to offer businesses willing to relocate to Carinthia the most attractive framework possible. In August 2019, these efforts culminated in the start of regular 5G operation by mobile netwoork operator Drei Austria in Pörtschach am Wörthersee, an Austrian-wide premiere!

5G ensures an even more powerful Internet coverage for Carinthian households, hospitals and businesses, independent of whether they are located in an urban or rural area. This will provide new, important impulses for tourism, transport, healthcare and agriculture.

Do you have any questions? We are happy to help!

The future of telecommunications has already begun

Shutterstock

The regular operation of 5G is the basis for a wealth of smart applications that have so far been extremely limited. It also means that the business, technology and tourism location of Carinthia is given a boost with top-level international expertise and cooperations that will ultimately result in improved value creation for Carinthia.

One of the latest projects made possible by 5G is the Bee-o-Meter, a 5G bee-counting system that counteracts the decline of the honeybee population. The smart beehive was developed by Carinthian enterprise IoT 40 Systems GmbH and counts all the bees that leave and return to the hive, as well as monitoring their environment. Via 5G live stream, the beekeeper is able to monitor his bees at all times. The evaluation of the collected data makes it possible to draw conclusions on pesticide exposure around the Bee-o-Meter and thus helps implement an efficient bio-monitoring system in a region.

The project partners will also harness the benefits of 5G technology for the implementation of mobility projects, in particular with regards to autonomous vehicles and automated air taxis.

Strong foundations for the business location of Carinthia

The launch of 5G is a milestone in the development of the high-tech region that is Carinthia. It is one of the pillars on which the promotion of innovation and digitalisation is based and will contribute towards keeping the region competitive.

In this way, the location of Carinthia is highly attractive for businesses and start-ups, all of which can expect ideal conditions for their business model and thus a significant competitive advantage. The so-called “digital nomads” who work around the globe without being bound to a specific location will also benefit from this ultra-fast Internet connection.

What is 5G?

5G offers upload and download speeds of up to one gigabyte per second. This ensures shorter latency periods, which helps with time-critical applications. In addition, data transmission will be more efficient and safer - a crucial factor, given that data volumes increase year on year.

5G works using existing mobile base stations; new masts are not required. The network will be reinforced by so-called Small Cells , to be installed at points where the demand is particularly high. The technology relies on a combination of new ideas and components that have been honed further. Frequencies are used that connect directly to existing mobile frequencies and therefore have similar proliferation characteristics. Technical measurements have shown that immissions will not increase significantly.

By the way: The responsible authorities have made a statement on the health risk associated with 5G and they all concluded that, based on the latest international science, there are no health risks to be expected.