Bialystok University of Technology is about to open the first in Poland – Campus 5G Network- Open RAN Lab. The 5G network is one of the first to operate in the local band

5G networks according to the Open RAN model mean diversification of suppliers and, consequently, the participation of local hardware and software manufacturers. Practical learning of the construction and operation of such networks will be possible thanks to a laboratory being set up in the building of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at Bialystok University of Technology.

 
– Students will have access to the latest technology, – emphasises Assoc. Prof. Mirosław Świercz, DSc, PhD, Eng, Vice-Rector for Development at Bialystok University of Technology. – They will be able to test commercial devices, and in the laboratory they will be able to carry out tests related to 5G radio transmission – for example, to check how much of the server’s computing resources are consumed by this network.

The 5G network is provided to the University by the Polish company IS-Wireless – the only Polish telecommunications network provider in the Open RAN model.

– The 5G network launched at Bialystok University of Technology demonstrates that such solutions can be created from the bottom up, based on multi-vendor solutions. The interfaces of the elements that make up the network are open and specified, which allows the use of hardware and software from different suppliers. This is the essence of Open RAN – explains Sławomir Pietrzyk, CEO of IS-Wireless.

Thanks to this technological concept, students of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at Bialystok University of Technology will be able to practically research and modify the private 5G network that will operate on the University’s campus.

Academic staff from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and the Faculty of Computer Science at Bialystok University of Technology have already made specifications for laboratory exercises to be carried out in the Campus 5G Network Open RAN Lab.

– Students will be able to practically check how modulation or signal coding affect communication, – explains Andrzej Zankiewicz, PhD, from the Department of Photonics, Electronics and Lighting Technology at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of Bialystok University of Technology. – They will be able to change the parameters and observe how they affect the speed of data transmission or the reliability of transmission and its resistance to interference from the surrounding environment

With the launch of the laboratory, Bialystok University of Technology students will be better prepared to enter the labour market.

– More and more telecommunications networks around the world are being built based on the Open RAN model. 6G networks will already be built almost exclusively in this model, – recalls Slawomir Pietrzyk – which is why the Bialystok installation, the first of its kind at a Polish university, is so important

6G networks will be built as early as the end of this decade.

IS-Wireless argues that in Poland, Bialystok University of Technology will be the first university to have such a practical 5G network laboratory. To date, the company has launched several such labs abroad.

– Bialystok University of Technology is an excellent partner – sums up Slawomir Pietrzyk – Together, with the other consortium members, we will show that building private 5G networks based on local frequencies is possible. The installation will help develop competences that are increasingly needed in the telecommunications market.

The 5G Network Open RAN Lab Campus at Bialystok University of Technology is also the result of cooperation with Emitel S.A. – a leader in passive infrastructure in Poland, which is entering the area of private networks. The company built the distributed antenna system (DAS) infrastructure and the servers were provided by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), a global provider of IT solutions including for new generation telecommunications networks.

– Due to the increasing role played by efficient and fast communication between devices in the modern world, 5G networks operating at high frequencies require skilful design and implementation, as well as a reliable radio signal distribution system. The quality of services provided in office or industrial buildings depends on this – emphasises Piotr Guziewicz, Director of the Office for Network Planning and Service Development of Emitel S.A.

Network provider IS-Wireless, using solutions provided by Emitel S.A. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), will launch one of Poland’s first private 5G networks at the university, operating in the n77 local band under a UKE permit.

The investment has been made by IS-Wireless, which has obtained financing from the Bitspiration Booster fund consisting of a commercial part and public funds from the Regional Operational Programme of the Podlaskie Voivodeship 2014-2020 – Operational Agreement No. 4/RPPD/1219/2019/1/DIF/187, concluded on 5 June 2019 between Bitspiration Booster Sp. z o.o. (as Financial Intermediary) and Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (as Manager of the Fund of Funds in the Podlaskie Voivodeship).

The opening of Poland’s first Campus 5G Network- Open RAN Lab located at Bialystok University of Technology will take place in the building of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of Bialystok University of Technology at 45D Wiejska Street on 30 January at 12.

The press conference will be attended by:

Assoc. Prof. Marta Kosior-Kazberuk, DSc, PhD, Eng, Rector of Bialystok University of Technology

dr inż. Sławomir Pietrzyk – Prezes Zarządu i założyciel IS-Wireless, 

Sławomir Pietrzyk – CEO of the Board and founder of IS-Wireless, 

Krzysztof Kowalczyk – Enterprise Sales Director at Hewlett Packard Enterprise,

Assoc. Prof. Bogusław Butryło, DSc, PhD, Eng, Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Bialystok University of Technology