Convergencia Research, Consultoría especializada en Latinoamérica y Caribe
Monday, November 15, 2021

The 5G Campus pilots in Chile aim to decentralize technology and generate ecosystems

Convergencialatina talked with Rodrigo Sajuria, CEO of Telefonica Empresas Chile, on the project of eight laboratories distributed nationwide. The topic will be one of the axes of debate at the opening of Big Players Map Day 2021, on November 24.

For two years, the Telefónica Empresas area in Chile has been analyzing 5G use cases in the corporate sphere and implementations abroad. As Rodrigo Sajuria, CEO of Telefonica Empresas Chile, confided to Convergencialatina, “we must not only launch 5G. The important thing is to open up and allow our clients, start-ups, to be in contact with technology as well as test use cases.”

The start of the experiments was delayed a year due to the pandemic, so it ended up getting closer to the eventual commercial launch of 5G services in Chile. In October, the first laboratory was inaugurated in Valparaíso, and another seven will follow throughout the country, under the premise that they are open spaces to innovation. Students, companies and local entrepreneurs will be able to go: another objective of the initiative is to not concentrate all the tests in Santiago. Experiments with mining companies could be promoted in the north of the country, or in the south, with salmon farming firms. "It seeks to decentralize technology and generate ecosystems to create 100% applicable use cases," said Sajuria.

As for the first laboratory in Valparaíso, two Nokia 5G NSA cells and a multiplicity of devices were installed. In particular, two local use cases were explored: first, a university venture with augmented reality simulators for port activity, meaning, cases of immersive virtual reality connected to 5G; and in the second, La Campana National Park is monitored with cameras to detect signs of drought, fires, among others.

“These are some of the uses that we are currently detecting. But we aim to reach a living ecosystem. Thus, in the future we will invite livestock and forestry clients who seek to measure sensitization,” the executive said.

These 5G Campuses are part of the “5G Movistar Experience”: they are distributed in four regions of the country -four in the Valparaíso Region, one in Coquimbo, two in the Metropolitan Region, and one in Maule-. The habilitation of all the laboratories is scheduled for March 2022, according to Sajuria. As for the technology providers of these facilities, they are divided between Nokia, Ericsson and Huawei. Regarding the results in terms of capacity obtained in the experiences, "we generally work to obtain 10 milliseconds of latency and 700 Mbps of speed." 

The 5G Campus initiative at the national level already has 18 academic centers and 2 technological research centers in four regions of Chile and is part of the “National 5G Observatory”, an initiative of the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications, supported by the IDB.

The experience with Movistar's 5G campuses will be reported at the opening panel of Big Players Map Day, the Convergencialatina event, on November 24th and 25th . To access the complete agenda and register, enter here

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