The benefits of 5G mobile technology including much higher download bandwidth, very short response time and concurrent support for significantly more devices are now increasingly well-known, but market players still have to develop products and services leveraging these network capabilities.
Telenor and Széchenyi István University in Győr have signed a partnership agreement to accelerate this process. Under the agreement recognizing the importance of 5G technology, the parties will take joint action to enable future engineers to conduct research on the most state-of-the-art mobile technology available. The university’s close collaboration with local industry will make research results available to business players in a fast and direct way.
Press conference makes Hungarian mobile technology history
The press conference organized to hand over the 5G test network and announce the partnership has made Hungarian mobile technology history when Ákos Kara, State Secretary for Infocommunications and Consumer Protection, and Jan Hanuš, CEO of Telenor Hungary, demonstrated the first 5G-based video call to the general public in Hungary using a 5G-enabled smartphone on the delivered test network and they also performed a download test to give the audience and idea of the test network’s capabilities including a download rate of 1.7Gbps.
“Mobile communications has reached a very important milestone in Hungary today. Hungary’s first 5G university test network went live and we completed the first 5G video call using a 5G smartphone in Hungary. In a few years’ time, 5G will go mainstream in the consumer market. Therefore, today’s event is a proof that Hungary is prepared for the challenges of the future. People use more and more smart devices that will require a stable and high-quality 5G network in Hungary. Currently, Hungary has one of the best 4G networks in the world. We also want the Hungarian 5G network to be rated among the best globally. Achieving that would further improve Hungary’s competitiveness”, said Ákos Kara, State Secretary for Infocommunications and Consumer Protection.
“Our Hipernet network is of world-leading quality and leveraging the capabilities of 5G technology is the next step in our effort to maintain this position. We know a lot about the potentials of 5G for self-driving cars, remote medicine and many other attractive use cases but we still have a long way to go to reach them. Carrying out a test in a real-life environment and partnering with the university, we want 5G to provide tangible benefits to industry players and consumers as soon as possible”, said György Koller, Chief Technology Officer of Telenor Hungary.
“Széchenyi István University of Győr traditionally has a strong relationship with industry players. The institution has a rich telecommunications heritage which makes us especially proud to host Hungary’s first 5G university test network in Győr”, said Prof. Dr. Péter Földesi, Rector of Széchenyi István University.
“We have reached the next milestone in the dynamic growth of Győr and Széchenyi István University. The partnership agreement signed today is based on the unique commitment of the municipality, the university and business players to building the future of Győr together. As the history of Győr goes hand in hand with innovation, it was just natural to assign the city a flagship role in 5G-based research and development. The newly launched project represents the future of Győr,” said Dr. Dávid Fekete, Vice Mayor of Győr.
Telenor has ZTE Corporation, one of the world’s top 5G technology vendors, as the network partner for its 5G test. In addition to delivering and installing network components, ZTE also supplied two of the world’s first 5G-enabled smartphones for the tests. As a result, Hungary has been one of the first countries in Europe to test the 5G experience on a mobile phone.