Melbourne is preparing for 5G licences to commence in March 2020 which offer a higher level of mobile connectivity. The benefits of 5G include significantly increased data speed, better coverage, better connection and more devices able to use the network at the one time.
The City of Melbourne has an important role to play in collaborating with government agencies, telecommunications providers, local businesses, startups, researchers and industry partners to help our community understand the capabilities of 5G and IoT and explore how they can benefit Melbourne.
5G networks are important to prepare Melbourne for future technologies such as telehealth, intelligent transport systems and smart energy systems. These future technologies may help us to deliver remote health services, improve transport safety and reduce congestion and emissions.
This testbed will allow City of Melbourne and relevant parties to ‘test and learn’ in a managed environment, and help inform an ideal and preferred future where emerging technology like 5G and IoT create mutual benefit for the city; the people who live, play, work and visit our municipality; and the parties that deliver these services.
By establishing a 5G and IoT testbed within a contained geographical area, we will be able to work together, undertake research and test new technology.
Within the 5G and IoT testbed, partners will design new partnership and governance models, establish protocols for data sharing, management, privacy and security and explore optimal placement and design of infrastructure. The lessons learned will establish new models that harness emerging technology which may be incorporated in future testbeds and broader smart city use cases across the municipality.
To find out more, visit Participate Melbourne.