T-Mobile Europe’s inaugural 5G drone flight
With Europe’s inaugural 5G drone flight, T-Mobile is demonstrating with technology partner Huawei that next-generation mobile communication is fast enough to control a drone in real time, and also transmit a high-resolution camera image of the drone.
While drones can already follow a programmed flight route, it has not been possible so far to control drones efficiently using mobile communication–say for unpredictable rescue missions that cannot be preprogrammed. In such cases, a Wi-Fi signal is often used to maintain contact between pilot and drone, notwithstanding the limitations associated with the range and transmitter. The use of 5G opens up an all-new dimension in innovative drone applications, which may even help save lives one day.
Dr. Thomas Pühringer, IKB Chairman: “For T-Mobile to roll out the 5G mobile network across Austria, it needs regional partners that meet the high standards required by fiber-optic networks. IKB has the necessary infrastructure in place here in Innsbruck and can support mobile video streaming, HD streaming, and many other data-intensive applications. We have a 640-kilometer-long, high-performance optical fiber network that enables us to offer lightning-fast surfing, full-HD TV, and the transportation of high data volumes with zero loss of speed.”
“Huawei has been investing the lion’s share of its research capacities in developing 5G technology for many years now. Today, we are at the forefront of the field and are delighted to showcase ourselves as 5G pioneers together with T-Mobile,” says Erich Manzer, Vice General Manager of Huawei Austria. “5G supports significantly higher speeds than 4G, thus opening up brand-new opportunities as we move towards a super-networked world.”
