Cascais to be 5G city

Cascais to be first Portuguese city to launch a 5G ‘Proof of Concept’ network.

The project is in collaboration with Dense Air Portugal, operating on their Licensed Spectrum
Dense Air Portugal signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) this week with the Cascais Council which sets out an implementation plan to launch a 5G Smart City ‘Proof of Concept’ network.
This has been agreed after a period of study and workshops with the council following the completion of an initial MOU in May 2019.
The Deputy Mayor of Cascais, Miguel Pinto Luz signed the agreement with Tony Boyle, General Manager of Dense Air Portugal at Cascais town hall actioning the delivery of 5G connectivity in the central Cascais area.
Miguel Pinto Luz highlighted the fact that: “Cascais is the first county to have the first installation” in collaboration with Dense Air Portugal. “We are really leading this process in the local authorities and we can be the first to offer our residents, those who visit us and those who like Cascais, this service that will greatly improve the lives of each of us.”
Mr Boyle said: “The move puts Cascais at the forefront of the next generation 5G industry and will provide the opportunity for the Câmara and other interested parties to test a number of the latest technological advances for uses such as autonomous vehicles, industrial IoT and immersive education.”
The transformation into a ‘smart community’ will involve the installation of a 5G Macro Cell at a prominent centrally located Câmara building in Cascais and strategically placed Small Cells to enhance the end user quality of experience and demonstrate pervasive 5G coverage. Today is an important milestone for the Câmara of Cascais and Dense Air Portugal as they strive to realise the full potential of 5G.
An equally important feature of this agreement is 5G test and validation demonstrations at the Digital Innovation Hub within Nova University in Carcavelos, facilitated by the Câmara Municipal de Cascais. This will be shown as part of their year of Techfest and will allow students and researchers a view of the very latest 5G connectivity to stimulate and test new and innovative business applications.
Mr Boyle said: “This initiative will benefit the council and its very ambitious plans to make Cascais a fully connected community and will in turn show how businesses can be more efficient and give consumers access to more and better information faster than ever before.”
The Dense Air business model is aimed at complementing and enhancing services provided by Mobile Network Operators.
“Dense Air Portugal has been planning this rollout of their network services for the last 12 months as part of our ambitious plans which will see the introduction of this neutral host small cell technology across Portugal,” added Boyle.