A fast and reactive connection like that of neurons in human brains, which definitively enables the Internet of Things and materializes so far still abstract concepts such as smart cities and Industry 4.0, making Milan the largest 5G laboratory in Europe. experimentation, conducted by Vodafone in collaboration with the Milan Polytechnic and worth an investment of 90 million, was presented in the Lombard capital in the presence of Mayor Beppe Sala, who took the opportunity to take up yet another challenge: "After the disappointment of the European drug agency - said Sala - we cannot miss the challenge of the digital revolution , which in addition to bringing about a significant evolution in areas such as health, environment and safety, will also be an excellent tool for breaking down the digital divide between the center and the suburbs, through the enhancement of broadband which will become accessible in every district of the city".
In Vodafone's plans, 5G will cover the entire metropolitan area of Milan by 2019, and 80% will already be covered by the end of 2018. 41 concrete projects are already ready in various fields, from health to mobility, from safety to industry, to which important technological and industrial partners contribute such as Nokia, Siemens, Huawei (which has recently opened its first flagship store in Europe at CityLife ), Ibm but also Pirelli, Eni, FCA and Ferrovie dello Stato, to name a few. All by the will of the Ministry of Economic Development, which has entrusted Vodafone (which already covers 98% of the Italian territory with 4G and has launched 4.5G in Florence, Milan, Palermo and Verona) with a project, that of 5G technology, which sees Milan as the leader but which it also involves four other Italian cities: L'Aquila, Matera, Bari and Prato.
“5G – he explained the managing director of Vodafone Aldo Bisio – first of all it means a much faster network, which will exceed 10 Gbps, then it means networking up to a million objects per square kilometer, in all fields and also through wearable technology, and finally it means a practically equal reaction speed to that of human thought, i.e. 1-10 milliseconds, which will make it possible to apply Industry 4.0, smart cities and make the network compatible, for example, with the functioning of the connected car without a driver. But 5G is also a social impact on people's lives and economic added value for companies and productivity".
But concretely what will be the projects that will make Milan the European capital of the digital revolution? Most of the projects, 21 out of 41, will be about health, one of the great challenges of the future considering the aging of the population, and industry, with robots and artificial intelligence entering ever more deeply the processes of hospitals and factories. As? “For example – said Bisio – through theconnected ambulance, which sees the collaboration of Nokia and the San Raffaele. The 5G connection will allow the timely management of critical situations during transport, avoiding the repetition of tests upon arrival at the hospital, with the possibility of sharing vital parameters and imaging tests in real time with the hospital team who can also connect via video ”.
For the manufacture, on the other hand, for example, a will be tested precision farming robots, that through a conscious and efficient use of global resources, such as water, and a rational use of pesticides, it will reduce pollution by increasing the productivity of difficult or infertile land. But there will also be news for traffic, for safety with the use of drones, and also for art and entertainment with the Tourism 4.0 project. "Thanks to virtual reality and augmented reality - added Bisio - we will also be able to revolutionize teaching and learning experiences at school", while for the Energy and Smart City part the Polytechnic is directly involved with services and workers in the Bovisa and Leonardo campuses .
