VODAFONE PARTNERS WITH DRESDEN UNIVERSITY

RNS Number : 5965S

Vodafone Group Plc

25 September 2014

 



25 September 2014

VODAFONE PARTNERS WITH DRESDEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY TO EXPAND

GLOBAL RESEARCH PROGRAMME

Vodafone today announced a partnership with Dresden University of Technology to research and develop 5G technology.  Vodafone will work with the university to bring together academics, developers and technology companies to explore the capabilities of 5G and establish technical guidelines for its development.

The partnership with Dresden University of Technology is part of Vodafone's global programme to research the next generation of wireless technologies with universities, technology companies and industry groups around the world*.

While 5G technology is still in the early stages of development, researchers predict that it will radically enhance the speed, resilience and intelligence of mobile networks and has the potential to:

·      significantly reduce latency, enabling a new generation of sophisticated M2M applications;

·      substantially increase the number of devices that can simultaneously connect to a network;

·      allow greater spectral efficiency; and

·      expand the reach of ultra-fast mobile networks.

To support research activities, Dresden University of Technology has opened its first 5G lab which offers specific facilities where researchers can test and evaluate a wide range of 5G technologies, including:

·      network hardware and software;

·      computer chips;

·      spectrum; and

·      cloud computing.

Professor Gerhard Fettweis, the Vodafone Chair of Mobile Communications Systems, Dresden University of Technology, said: "Today, mobile communications is all about moving content from one place to another. Tomorrow it will be about being able to control a vast array of objects in real-time with little human intervention. To get there we need to rethink wireless communications, particularly with regard to data rates, latency and IP services. With our new 5G lab, and the support of our partners like Vodafone, Dresden is well positioned to lead a cross-industry effort to find answers to some of these challenging questions."

Luke Ibbetson, Vodafone's head of research and development, said: "Vodafone is proud to be taking a leadership role in the development of the next generation of wireless communications. While 5G is in very early stages of development it's important that we invest the time and effort to really understand the technology. There are several years of research ahead of us and Vodafone looks forward to working closely with Dresden and its other partners around the world to build a technical foundation for the next generation of mobile communications."  

For further information please visit: http://www.dresden5glab.org/ or www.vodafonechair.com.

Notes to editors:

* Vodafone is working with the University of Surrey, Kings College London and Carnegie Mellon University to research the next generation of wireless technologies.

Vodafone is a founding member of the 5G Innovation Centre at the University of Surrey: http://tinyurl.com/lchhxwn.

Vodafone Group Media Relations:

www.vodafone.com/media/contact 

About Vodafone          
Vodafone is one of the world's largest telecommunications companies and provides a range of services including voice, messaging, data and fixed communications. Vodafone has mobile operations in 26 countries, partners with mobile networks in 52 more, and fixed broadband operations in 17 markets. As of 30 June 2014, Vodafone had 436 million mobile customers and 9 million fixed broadband customers. For more information, please visit: www.vodafone.com

 

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