Startups in Peachtree Corners, Georgia are receiving an exciting new 5G program from T-Mobile, Curiosity Lab, and Georgia Tech University. The collaborative 5G incubator program for startups is called the 5G Connected Future Program and will look to advance 5G services and move tech forward such as T-Mobile’s Accelerator Program. Everything will happen in a 500-acre smart city tech park in Peachtree Corners featuring a 25,000 square foot Innovation Center and a three-mile test track that will be used to test autonomous vehicles. Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) is the group that is collaborating, the fourth initiative of such sorts from the group. Previous efforts have focused on tech in finance, health, and retail spaces.
T-Mobile is providing its Extended Range 5G and its Ultra Capacity 5G. Extended Range 5G uses low-band 600 MHz spectrum while Ultra Capacity 5G transmits on mid-band (2.5 GHz) and high-band (mmWave) 5G. Currently, T-Mobile’s low-band network covers over 280 million people and 1.6 million square miles throughout the United States. With over 8,000 people working and living at the “living lab”, the goal is to create an environment in which testing and creating 5G-related solutions can thrive using a “real-world” environment.
An exciting aspect of the program is that while companies are working on these solutions, T-Mobile, Georgia Tech, and Curiosity Lab will be there along the way to provide collaborative opportunities. This includes access to experts in technology, engineers, and even business. Efforts will focus on solutions surrounding industrial done applications, mixed reality training and entertainment, personal health and fitness wearables, remote medical care, and robotics.
The ATDC’s role will include evaluating startups, recruiting, and programming. Because of their expertise and experience dealing with the various hurdles that come with creating a business for 5G, the ATDC plans to help startups overcome such obstacles as well as develop their solutions. ATDC Director John Avery said in a statement, “In addition to the normal startup concerns, entrepreneurs in the 5G space face a unique set of challenges such as regulatory issues at the state and local levels, network security, and integration testing.”
These sorts of collaborations are nothing new for T-Mobile. The 5G industry as a whole is working more and more on moving towards cooperative approaches to accelerate solutions, cut costs, and advance 5G like never before. T-Mobile alone has worked with almost 70 startups and raised more than $51 million through its Accelerator program. Curiosity Lab was opened in 2019 in which Sprint was not only a headlining name but also helped launch the initiative in Peachtree Corners, GA by inviting various companies to test 5G and Sprint’s Internet of Things (IoT) platform. One of the more dominant headlines over in 5G in 2020 was the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint finally coming to fruition. Startups looking to apply to the program can do so by clicking here.
Source: Fierce Wireless