Neutral and shared infrastructures to reduce costs, improve efficiency and boost sustainability

Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2023

Cellnex presents its “Augmented Towerco” industrial model at the MWC, which extends to sharing active equipment (RAN sharing) and assets adjacent to the tower.

Barcelona, 27 February 2023. Cellnex Telecom is taking part in the Mobile World Congress 2023, the benchmark event for the telecommunications sector, to be held in Barcelona between 27 February and 2 March. This event will bring together the key companies and practitioners involved in developing and rolling out the most innovative mobile and connectivity technologies worldwide. This edition revolves around the motto Velocity, Unleashing tomorrow’s technology, Today, and expects to gather more than 80,000 visitors from around the world.

Cellnex, Europe’s leading wireless telecommunications infrastructure operator, present in 12 countries and with a portfolio of over 135,000 sites – including forecast roll-outs up to 2030 -, will be present at stand 4C50, covering more than 180 m2 and located in hall 4 of Fira Gran Via de l’Hospitalet. There it will showcase all the connectivity solutions that it offers its customers in order to accompany them in developing, rolling out, operating and maintaining all the infrastructures and assets adjacent to the towers that can be pooled under the neutral host model, which helps to cut costs, improve efficiency and promote sustainability.

A comprehensive operator of neutral and shared infrastructures in Europe

Since it went public in 2015, Cellnex has developed an industrial model in Europe that advocates neutrality and sharing to allow mobile operators to cut their operating costs and channel their efforts and resources to invest in rolling out new technologies and services for their end customers. As a comprehensive infrastructure operator, Cellnex also develops, deploys and operates the entire value chain of connectivity infrastructures adjacent to the towers, which are also necessary for the roll-out of new technologies such as 5G.

Outstanding among these adjacent assets is fibre to the tower (FTTT), for expanding the data transmission capacity or data centres and edge computing, which are key to ensuring the low latencies (response times) required for critical applications and processes. This in addition to extending the management of passive infrastructure, in the case of the towers, to active voice and data transmission equipment (RAN Sharing).

Cellnex will explain this model to visitors at its stand (number 4C50, in Hall 4), using a holographic display of a large 3D-format tower to explain the shared and neutral infrastructure model and the “Augmented Towerco” concept.

Also at the stand, the company uses an interactive screen measuring more than five metres to show concrete examples of the deployment of this type of infrastructure and adjacent assets in the various European countries in which it operates, taking into account the connectivity solutions that it offers to its customers to move jointly towards digitisation and the gigabit society:

• For MNOs, with which it works in the deployment, operation and maintenance of their passive and active infrastructures, based on the neutral host model, as well as deploying and operating the infrastructures necessary to densify and provide coverage in challenging scenarios, especially the crowded ones, as well as in rural areas to reduce the digital divide.

• For Public Services, with which it works in the deployment, operation and maintenance of private communications networks for security and emergency forces, as well as the communications infrastructures necessary for connected mobility in cities and urban and suburban road and rail transport corridors.

• For Enterprises, with which it works in the design, deployment, operation and maintenance of private networks, especially in industrial environments – large factories, ports, airports, etc. – to digitise their processes and secure information, with the aim of helping to improve their efficiency and productivity and thus the competitiveness of the industry thanks to connectivity.

All this with a focus on sustainability thanks to the efficiency of the infrastructure sharing model and the focus on the development of environmentally friendly sites and the increased use of renewable energy sources.

5G Broadcast

Also during MWC23, Cellnex will test 5G Broadcast broadcasts together with Rohde Schwarz, Qualcomm Technologies and Ateme. This is a pilot projects that will allow viewers to receive live TV and radio content on their mobile phones with low battery consumption, without the need to consume data and high-quality network coverage.

The tests, which began in mid-January, were performed during the ISE international audiovisual fair and will end after the MWC Barcelona 2023. In this way, users can access the contents through their mobile devices compatible with the 5G Broadcast signal. Thanks to the collaboration of RTVE, the contents that will be accessible include the Radio Televisión Española news channel “Canal 24h”, the main RTVE channel “La1” and the regional radio channel of Radio Nacional de España called “Radius 5”.

For this test, Cellnex has rolled out a new site to cover the area around the Fira Gran Via venue.

GSMA Foundry Innovation Showcase

Cellnex has also been selected to take part in the GSMA Foundry Innovation Showcase (Hall 4), an initiative from the organisers of the MWC to show cases of use and application of technology in the daily life of people and companies.

As the leader of the 5G Catalonia project, the company will showcase the seven use cases it has developed together with other partners in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, highlighting how a 5G network provides high capacity for sending information with a very low network latency allowing two-directional viewing of holograms. This use case tested creation of a holographic support for distance learning environments. The objective is to provide added value to the distance education environment, achieving a sensation of physical proximity between teachers and students. This employs a holographic speaker, who can establish two-way communication with their students.

Precisely the 5G Catalonia project has been recognised at the Mobile World Congress with the prestigious GSMA Foundry Excellence Award 2023.

Agenda of Cellnex presentations at MWC2023

Cellnex participates actively in several of the workshops and seminars organised by GSMA, the organising entity of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and Mobile World Capital Barcelona:

• Monday, 27 February from 11.45 am to 12.30 pm (CET) – Cellnex participates on the Industry City Stage (Hall 4), providing a sample of the connected technology being implemented in Industry 4.0. Mikko Uusitalo, Global Director of Mission Critical & Private Networks, is taking part in the session entitled: Manufacturing summit: remote control – connecting an industrial revolution.

• Tuesday, 28 February from 9.30 to 11.30 am (CET) – GSMA is organising a seminar to talk about fibre to the tower involving Mirko Masi, Technology & Product Lines Director of Cellnex.

• Tuesday, 28 February at 3 pm (CET) – At Mobile World Capital stand (6B31) there is a round table to talk about connected mobility. José López Luque, innovation project manager at Cellnex and 5GMed project coordinator takes part in this forum to discuss what the mobility of the future will be like.

• Wednesday 1 March at 3 pm (CET) – The company is also taking part in the ‘5G mmWave Summit’ organised by GSMA. Here, Eduardo Fichmann, Innovation & Product Strategy Global Director at Cellnex participates in a round table on “5G mmWave in 2023 and beyond” at the Partner Theater number 5 in Hall 7 to present the use case that the company is developing in this area in the “La Defense” economic district in Paris.

• Wednesday, 1 March at 4 pm (CET) – Cellnex together with Nokia gives a presentation in the Beat Barcelona place – Mobile World Capital – located in Garden 8, next to Hall 8. Catherine Gull, Head of Product Solutions and Business Development at Cellnex and Stephane Haulbert, Nokia Partner Lead, present the strategic alliance between both companies and the projects and industrial use cases they are deploying in the field of private networks.

About Cellnex Telecom

The efficient deployment of next-generation connectivity is essential to drive technological innovation and accelerate inclusive economic growth. Cellnex Telecom is the independent wireless telecommunications and broadcasting infrastructures operator that enables operators to access Europe’s most extensive network of advanced telecommunications infrastructures on a shared-use basis, helping to reduce access barriers for new operators and to improve services in the most remote areas.

Cellnex manages a portfolio of 138,000 sites – including forecast roll-outs up to 2030 – in Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Poland. Cellnex’s business is structured in four major areas: telecommunications infrastructure services; audiovisual broadcasting networks, security and emergency service networks and solutions for smart urban infrastructure and services management (Smart cities and the “Internet of Things” (IoT)).

The company is listed on the continuous market of the Spanish stock exchange and is part of the selective IBEX 35 and EuroStoxx 100 indices. It is also present in the main sustainability indexes, such as CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project), Sustainalytics, FTSE4Good and MSCI.