The Orange Group has opened its first 5G Lab in Côte d’Ivoire (CI AKA Ivory Coast) to encourage digital professionals, start-ups and businesses to change their world with exciting new inventions for the new network. With a national 5G roll-out scheduled for 2023 the lab in Cocody, Abidjan could launch local businesses into the air to soar on the thermals of demand as passion for 5G currents is created by the telco’s marketing campaign.
Orange Côte d’Ivoire said it is thinking ahead by providing local businesses with a new collaborative space that is fully equipped and dedicated to practical applications. The Orange 5G Lab Abidjan was devised with expertise from partners include Huawei, Nokia and ZTE. The free facility was built around two concepts: discover new possibilities and supporting businesses that are keen to experiment with their own ideas for new 5G-enabled products or service. The site will host a 5G demo space for different business sectors, conferences, training, co-working sessions, co-innovation and practical 5G application sessions.
“It is crucial that this space offers ready-to-use tools and allows the results of these experiments to be assessed in a practical fashion,” said Mamadou Bamba, CEO of Orange Côte d’Ivoire.
Last year Orange opened a Digital Center in CI last year to great effect, according to Jérôme Hénique, CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa. In a similar vein the Orange 5G Lab will encourage the adoption of this technology by local businesses. “They will not only be able to benefit from the expertise and tools available here, in Abidjan, but they will also have access to feedback from more than 1,500 businesses and local authorities that have had access to an Orange 5G Lab worldwide, including 127 that have already been able to set up testing based around their own practical examples,” said Hénique.
Orange has already opened 15 Orange 5G Labs, including two in Africa, said Christel Heydemann, CEO of the Orange Group, who promised more to come. “Orange will continue to drive this initiative throughout the Group’s footprint,” said Heydemann. The event took place on Tuesday, September 20 at the Deux Plateaux Smart Store in Cocody, Abidjan. It was also attended by Côte d’Ivoire Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Amadou Coulibaly.
Source: https://www.mobileeurope.co.uk/orange-opens-5g-lab-in-cote-divoire/