Cellnex enters the capital of Nearby Sensor

Reinforces its positioning in IoT, edge computing and 5G

• Cellnex contributes €500,000, equivalent to a 15% stake, to the start-up dedicated to rolling out the Internet of Things (IoT), edge computing, and the automation of IT-OT hybrid processes (industrial IoT), that will emerge with the roll-out of 5G.

Barcelona, 27^th December 2018.  Cellnex Telecom and Nearby Sensor have signed an agreement for the telecommunications infrastructure operator to join the share capital of the start-up with a contribution of half a million euros, equivalent to a 15% stake in the company. Nearby Sensor, founded in 2013 and based in Barcelona, develops systems and applications for Smart Cities, infrastructures and large facilities.

According to Òscar Pallarols, global director of Innovation and Strategy: “For Cellnex, the investment in Nearby Sensor is part of our open and collaborative innovation strategy, identifying entrepreneurial initiatives that start from frontier research in universities and knowledge centres and end up translating into innovative value and service proposals within the field of connectivity and telecommunications.”

Cellnex Telecom’s entry into Nearby Sensor completes the shareholding of this technology start-up dedicated to rolling out the Internet of Things (IoT), edge computing and the automation of IT-OT (Information Technology / Operational Technology) hybrid processes, which will emerge with the future arrival of 5G networks. In addition to Cellnex, the shareholders of the Catalan start-up include the founders of the company, who are professionals linked to the implementation of technology in the public management of the city of Barcelona, Urbidermis of the Santa & Cole group, and the Eacom engineering company.

Interest in Nearby Computing’s projects

Cellnex was especially interested in Nearby Sensor’ participation in the constitution of a spin-off called Nearby Computing, together with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center-Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS). Nearby Computing offers a differential, high-tech product for corporate IoT and 5G roll-outs, based on the research generated in the BSC-CNS and the UPC (Polytechnical University of Catalonia). These services allow companies and administrations to automate complex computer processes in the edge, for IoT and 5G networks, combining various commercial software products and the integration of hardware and software components.

Nearby Sensor and Nearby Computing are complementary solutions that together provide an overarching approach to the issue of rolling out large IoT networks.

The technology capabilities of Nearby Computing have led to joint projects being set up with companies as important as Cellnex Telecom itself, Cisco Systems, and Intel. The company is currently preparing a demonstrator of the architectures that it is creating to present them at the Mobile World Congress to be held in Barcelona next February.

About Nearby Sensor

Nearby Sensor, set up in 2013 and based in Barcelona, develops products applicable in areas such as Smart Cities, infrastructure, large amenities and facilities, industrial plants and, generally speaking any field in which information management requires the combination of data coming from conventional information systems and from machines or sensors.

About Cellnex Telecom

Cellnex Telecom is Europe’s leading operator of wireless telecommunications and broadcasting infrastructures with a total portfolio of 28,000 sites including forecast roll-outs up to 2022. Cellnex operates in Spain, Italy, Netherlands, France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

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 600 indices. It is also part of the FTSE4GOOD and CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) and “Standard Ethics” sustainability indexes.