The 5G Techritory Forum brought together over 1000 participants over 4 days for a variety of workshops, roundtables, hackathons, and sessions, resulting in the most comprehensive collection of internationally agreed-upon principles for the further development and deployment of 5G technologies. These action plans were focused on the Baltic Sea Region, the 9 countries around the Baltic Sea that together combine over 150 million inhabitants.
Actionable insight was provided through the following channels:
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5G policymakers' hackathon – creating 5G policy recommendations at a municipal, national, and European level
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Stakeholders' roundtable discussions – 5 steps on furthering cross-border collaboration for 5G deployment within the Baltic Sea Region
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Multi-lateral meetings among Baltic countries and Poland – agreeing on the next steps for the implementation of the Via Baltica 5G-enabled highway
The 5G policymakers' hackathon was the first of its kind, laying the foundation for a new format for the rapid development of legislation to fit the needs of an increasingly complex regulatory environment, which requires the simultaneous collaboration of multiple countries, as well as the participation of technological representatives in order to ensure legislation that both makes room for innovation, as well as protects members of society.
The policymakers' hackathon resulted in mapping and providing legislative recommendations for 5 specific challenges that are obstacles to ensuring the smooth deployment of 5G use cases. Those included: legislation regarding the cross-border travel of autonomous vehicles, the cross-border travel of drones, the regulation and protection of private data within smart cities, legislation for allowing for 5G-enabled smart city testing zones within the city, and traffic accident resolution and liability issues. The recommendations will be collected and presented to the European Commission for further evaluation. It is hoped that this framework will be adopted by communities around the globe for further development of innovations.
The stakeholders' roundtable discussions were attended by leading 5G industry participants, including politicians responsible for 5G deployment from around the Baltic Sea, heads of major industry organisations, senior representatives from the European Commission, global and regional business leaders, academia and other high-value 5G stakeholders. They agreed on five next steps regarding further collaboration, including arranging the next meetings, drafting a joint declaration, assigning a responsible participant to co-ordinate co-operation, and more.
Multi-lateral meetings among Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland resulted in an action plan for the next steps regarding the implementation of Via Baltica, the 5G-enabled highway that runs through the entire Baltic countries, all the way to Poland. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in 2018 at the 5G Techritory Forum, and this year's Forum, the Ministry of Transportation of Latvia announced that the next steps necessary to move the dial forward for the implementation of the smart transit corridor were agreed upon.
The 5G Techritory Forum provided the incentive and impetus to bring together the individuals and organizations that are responsible for the deployment of 5G Technologies within the Baltic Sea Region. As a result, and unprecedented among of decisions were able to be taken, all of which required significant cross-border collaboration. The 5G Techritory Forum provided the space, and throughout the year, these decisions will be implemented under the leadership of what will be known as the 5G Techritory Platform.
Press contact
Julia Gifford
media@5gtechritory.com
+371 26100633
More information:
The event was organised by the State Electronic Office of Latvia, under the Ministry of Environmental and Regional Development. It was powered by the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, backed by Latvian Mobile Telephone (LMT) as a strategic partner and Rohde & Schwarz and Ericsson as general sponsors.
Other international partners include Cisco, Microsoft, Qualcomm Incorporated, the Nordic Council of Ministers, 5G Alliance for Connected Industries and Automation (5G-ACIA), 5G Automotive Association (5GAA), 5G Infrastructure Association (5G IA), EMEA Satellite Operator's Association (ESOA), ERTICO, European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), the British Embassy in Riga, and the Embassy of Norway in the Republic of Latvia.
