Orange is launching a series of 5G labs in France and abroad to help local authorities and companies – start-ups, SMEs, big companies – regardless of their sector to leverage the opportunities with 5G.
In France, seven sites will host all the companies and local authorities, regardless of their sector. The Orange 5G Lab site in Châtillon (Paris region) is opening today. The others will gradually open in six other French towns: Lille, Lyon-Charbonnières, Marseille, Paris-La Défense, Rennes and Toulouse.
Certain sites will specialise in a specific field but will not be devoted exclusively to this area. For example, the Lyon lab, located at the Campus Région du Numérique at Charbonnières-les-Bains, will be focused on Industry 4.0, and the Cœur Défense site in the Customer Innovation Centre will be more focused on Orange Business Services’ major clients.
The initiative will also be rolled out in European countries where the Group has a presence during the first half of 2021. An Orange 5G Lab will open in Bucharest in Romania in partnership with the University Politehnica of Bucharest to foster the development of commercial projects, research and innovation. In Belgium, the lab will be located near the Orange Industry 4.0 campus in the Port of Antwerp.
“We believe that 5G will drive business competition and regional development. This is why Orange is involved in a co-innovation approach focused on 5G to create the uses of the future. Having a local presence close to these players is a key part of the Orange 5G Labs initiative, to support the digital transformation of economic players and to help everyone take advantage of 5G’s potential,” said Michäel Trabbia, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at Orange.
