5G-based smart meters planned for Belgium’s Wavre

Smart metering is one of the use cases for supporting the commercial proposition for a 5G network rollout in the central Belgian city of Wavre.

The initiative CONNECTOW, which is being co-funded with almost €3 million (US$3.25 million) from the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility – Digital, will see the Belgian telco Citymesh build a state-of-the-art city-wide 5G private network in Wavre.

The city is experiencing a need for 5G connectivity for services that require a high capacity, reliable network, However, installing a 5G network is currently not commercially advantageous for the mobile network operators and there is a significant financial gap generated by insufficient commercial viability, high upfront costs and a lack of private-market finance.

Under CONNECTOW and with the CEF grant, Citymesh and the City of Wavre will collaborate closely to ensure that the network architecture, planning and technology match the wishes and needs of the service providers as closely as possible.

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The smart electricity metering is planned to enable the city to better manage and green its energy consumption.

In addition to smart metering, other use cases for the 5G connectivity include local administrative services and the use of safety drones by police and fire services in emergency situations as well as other service providers with business critical communication, remote operation and data collection needs that can improve the experience of residents and visitors.

5G for ‘smart communities’

The CONNECTOW project is one of the first wave of seven projects being supported from the CEF for co-funding 5G connectivity infrastructures.

Among the others is the Hi5 project to roll out the technology in the metropolitan area of Toulouse for city services such as traffic management and event connectivity.

Others are focussed on agriculture, education and healthcare as well as disaster relief along the Hungary-Ukraine border.