Spanish airport manager Aena has deployed European telecom infrastructure and services operator Cellnex Telecom’s 5G services at San Sebastian International Airport in Spain.
Under the project, Cellnex installed and rolled out the 5G network at San Sebastian airport. The network will be used to study various cases related to drone operations mainly related to security and advanced monitoring.
Cellnex will also collaborate with Nokia as its deployment partner for the 5G network while Inetum will supply and operate the associated drones.
Globally, Aena has identified 5G as one of the key technologies for its digital transformation process. Although connectivity has been a reality in airports for a few years, the leap to this new technology will make it possible to develop new applications in important fields such as security and operations. 5G will help to further advance the Internet of Things (IoT) and help to implement big data, virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence.
This new technology, and its relevant applications and functionalities, will also foster the sustainable management of airport activity, making it compatible with local nature conservation and environmental management.
Pablo Lopez Loeches, head of ideation and entrepreneurship at Aena, underlines “The importance of having a private 5G network at one of our airports that allows us to test specific airport use cases that require high capacity, low latency and high device density, as well as a new connectivity layer that provides the airport community with a highly reliable and readily available data transmission service.” He went on to state that “performing these tests will allow us to identify the degree of maturity of 5G technology and to see to what extent it can be adapted to Aena’s needs to improve our internal connectivity services.”
Miquel Mir, enterprise sales manager at Cellnex Spain, highlights “the importance of telecommunications infrastructures and technologies such as 5G in contributing to optimise processes in complex environments like airports, where security and operational efficiency are key, above and beyond connectivity for passengers”, and was “satisfied to work with Aena in this pilot that will serve to lay the foundations for future deployments of this type of network —and its multiple use cases— in Spanish airports; in addition to being able to demonstrate Cellnex’s capabilities as a neutral telecommunications infrastructure operator and its expertise in assisting the deployment of critical networks”.
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