LATEST 5GS

TITLE: 5G Corridor Study for Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania

TITLE EST: 5G Koridori uuring Läti, Eesti ja Leedu jaoks

DURATION: 01.01.2023 – 30.06.2023

The availability of 5G infrastructure in transport corridors is an important step in promoting sustainable mobility, developing innovation in transport and freight transport logistics, and improving road safety. Furthermore, ensuring the continuity of services both within the transport corridors of Via Baltica and Rail Baltica and across national borders is an essential precondition for the successful digitalization and development of the road. Within the project, a study will be carried out containing technical solutions and financial model(s) for the needed 5G deployment infrastructure of the transport corridors of Via Baltica and Rail Baltica, capable of cross-border 5G services in the Baltic States. Those services include, among others, safety-related road and rail operations (e.g., Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), Future Rail Mobile Communication System (FRMCS)), and multiservice/multi-application 5G services). For ITS 5G services, the 700 MHz and 3.5 GHz frequency bands will be studied. The study will serve as a basis for further 5G deployment preceding further CEF Works calls in the respective corridors, fostering infrastructural, economic, and societal growth, as well as inclusiveness and competitiveness. The inception study will include network planning and stakeholder needs analyses, as well as information on the use of existing infrastructure, fostering the respective region's recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic’s consequences by offering the most resourceful scenarios for the 5G coverage implementation along the respective corridors. The study will also contribute to reducing the digital divide gap, as the 5G coverage deployment would ensure high-speed, reliable, secure internet connections for citizens, businesses, and public services. Our 5-partner and two associated partner consortium is driven by strong tele- and electronic communications experts who have previous experience in project development and project management.

Overall objective of this project is to carry out a study containing the technical solution and the financial model(s) for the needed 5G deployment infrastructure of the transport corridor, capable of cross-border 5G services. Those services include, among others, safety-related road and rail operations (e.g., Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), Future Rail Mobile Communication System (FRMCS)), and multi-service/multi-application 5G services.
The project scope includes the transport corridors in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In addition to the Via Baltica and Rail Baltica, additional motorways are to be evaluated during the initial phase of the project (Task 2.1). The Ministry of Transport and Communications of Lithuania has already conducted a similar study in Lithuania and will thus join the consortia to share their know-how and study results.
The 700 MHz and 3.5 GHz spectrum bands are already deployed for mobile services in Latvia (including 5G), and in Estonia, the 3.5 GHz band has been auctioned and is available for providing of 5G services. This frequency band will be primarily used in the LATEST 5GS project. In Estonia, the auction of the 700 MHz bands is planned in the first half of November 2022, and as an addition to this project, a study on the 700 MHz bands will be carried out.

The study will cover transport corridors of Via Baltica and Rail Baltica crossing the territories of Estonia and Latvia.
In Estonia the study will cover the following routes, Figure 1:
● Via Baltica (Tallinn-Pärnu-Ikla), ca 200km
● Rail Baltica (Tallinn-Ikla), ca 200km
● Tallinn-Tartu-Valga, ca 270km
 

• 2nd face-to-face meeting held on 9th of March in Riga, VAS ES premises

• Kick-Off meeting held on the 5th of January

• TALLINNA TEHNIKAÜLIKOOL (Coordinator) 
• EESTI LAIRIBA ARENDUSE SIHTASUTUS (ELASA) 
• VALSTS AKCIJU SABIEDRIBA ELEKTRONISKIE SAKARI (VASES), 
• TELIA EESTI AS (TELIA)
• ELISA EESTI AS (Elisa)
  

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Connecting Europe Facility programme CEF Project Grants under Grant Agreement no 101094532