5G technology has taken off at Gatwick Airport’s South Terminal, as Vodafone finally completes the huge installation of hundreds of kilometres of fibre.
The super-fast new Vodafone 5G network won’t be available for travellers using the North Terminal until early next year. Retail, food and drink businesses will also gain access next year. But this move will put Gatwick at the forefront of new technology, and it’s a huge boost for Vodafone.
Smart airport
The airport has embarked on a 5-year investment programme in order to become digitized. Gatwick Airport management describes this process as becoming a “smart airport”.
The quest to become a smart airport doesn’t just consist of installing 5G. The airport has also dabbled in robotic parking and automated check-in. The 5G network will certainly help to support these projects and make much more ambitious use of technology possible.
New opportunities
The CIO at Gatwick Airport, John Barton, said that, “5G has the potential to unlock a wide range of new capabilities and to reliably connect everything around us to a network many times faster than those it replaces.”
The airport is looking to embrace the potential of 5G network quickly, and it’s easy to see why. It will allow for new technology to run much quicker and more efficiently. And it also places the airport as a front-runner for innovation.
"Many of the 250 companies operating on the Gatwick campus can also benefit from this super-fast 5G service."
John Barton, CIO at Gatwick
Barton went on to say, “Many of the 250 companies operating on the Gatwick campus can also benefit from this super-fast 5G service, including those that rely heavily on mobile applications for their day-to-day business.”
With 24,000 people working at the airport and 46 million people travelling through it every year, all demanding faster speeds and connectivity, it seems like a wise move.
Vodafone leads the way
Vodafone is hoping to make a name for itself as a front-runner for 5G. Not only is it providing Gatwick Airport with 5G, a huge project in itself, but many more places too.
Vodafone has pledged to launch 5G in rural areas and has adhered to this already by switching on 5G in the Isles of Scilly. The company isn’t afraid to pave the way for its competitors.
(Via: https://www.computerweekly.com.)
