As part of the NorthStar innovation program initiated in February 2023 and supported by European Union (EU) funding granted in December 2022, Telia is developing 150 kilometers of 5G transport corridors. The move comes along selected routes between important industrial and technology clusters around Sweden. These corridors will connect controlled test areas with public roads, with full-scale tests scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2024, helping to change the future of transport services in Sweden.
In Stockholm, corridors are being built on the E4 between Södertälje and Nyköping and Solna and Rosersberg, as well as on the E18 between Danderyd and Kapellskär. In Gothenburg, corridors are being built along National Highway 40 between Råda and Hindås and Hindås and Viared, close to AstaZero, a full-scale test environment for automated transport systems.
“We are developing unique 5G infrastructure that will reach public environments,” says Magnus Leonhardt, head of strategy and innovation at Telia Sweden’s B2B business. “By upgrading the existing 5G network and connecting NorthStar’s innovation network along strategically selected routes in industrially dense regions, we are establishing transport corridors that enable vehicles to switch between local dedicated mobile networks and the public 5G network.”
“This is an incredibly important step for us and our partners in the NorthStar innovation programme, and an important piece of the puzzle in the establishment of a Northern European transport corridor to test and develop systems for connected and autonomous vehicles, such as self-driving electric trucks,” Leonhardt adds. “These transport corridors are unique and will play a decisive role in determining whether we are able to introduce new, smarter, and more sustainable transport solutions in society in a safe and secure way.”
The 5G transport corridors will help to enable automated vehicles to travel from one logistics hub to another. This is a scenario that is currently being developed as part of the NorthStar programme at the AstaZero test environment outside Gothenburg, which the RISE research institute owns. Once the corridors are up and running, the testing can be extended to public roads, enabling vehicles to start at a port, travel along the highway, and eventually arrive at a fenced storage facility.
“Electrification, digitalisation, and automation are required in the emission-free transport system that we are creating together in Gothenburg right now,” says Jonas Eriksson, head of Gothenburg Green City Zone at Business Region Gothenburg. “The NorthStar venture gives us a unique opportunity to attract actors who want to scale up their trials, in a real environment. Our transport solutions must be smart.”
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