By James Blackman
Cellnex Telecom is to deploy a private 5G network, plus edge componentry, for the automotive branch of engineering group SEGULA Technologies in Germany. The project is being handled by Edzcom, the Spanish company’s private networking division. Edzcom will install the edge networking and compute functions at SEGULA’s test centre and proving ground in Rodgau-Dudenhofen, in the Rhein-Main region near Frankfurt in southwest Germany.
It marks the first time Finland-based Edzcom, which has earned some acclaim as a private LTE and 5G specialist in Europe, has deployed in Germany, the nominal home of Industrie 4.0, and also the first time it has deployed in the automotive industry. The firm has 40-odd references for private network deployments, mostly in the Nordic region with port groups, mining companies, and a number of machine makers. It works closely with Nokia and Athonet; it is expected both will be on-point for the SEGULA gig.
The firm, acquired by Cellnex in 2020, owns its own spectrum at 2.6 GHz and 450 MHz for local leasing to enterprises in Finland; it is subletting 50MHz of spectrum at 2.6 GHz from Three in Sweden, as well. The new project in Germany uses the 3.7-3.8 GHz ‘vertical’ band, set aside by the local regulator for dedicated local industrial usage.
SEGULA will offer automotive customers private 5G usage at its proving ground, for testing vehicles, including new-generation electric and autonomous vehicles. It also ties in with the wider global enterprise trend for digitalisation – to drive business productivity and environmental sustainability. Cellnex said the deal affords it a way in the automotive sector, also –” to expand into connected and autonomous vehicles”.
A statement said: “The collaboration opens a new direction for Cellnex to expand into the automotive sector and deliver a unique value proposition with optimised private 5G network capabilities to the automotive market… [The 5G installation will bring] high mobility due to very low latency, as well as a dedicated spectrum, strong security and data confidentiality.”
Chief executive at SEGULA in Germany, Holger Jené said: “Cellnex’s private 5G network established onsite our proving ground in Rodgau-Dudenhofen is the ideal option that provides the opportunity to develop autonomous driving and V2X functionality in a real environment that is secure and reliable. Adding future connectivity capabilities is essential in an industry that is becoming fully digital.”
Global director of mission critical and private networks at Cellnex, Mikko Uusitalo said: “The most important thing to consider when investing in innovation is the potential for scalability that can be realised in the future. We must be able to scale up and we can accomplish this through our extensive expertise and experience in deploying over 40 private networks across Europe. As this collaboration revolves around the automotive industry, we can deploy successful innovations many times over. This is scalable and key to our business.”
