Telia Sweden and Ericsson have showcased how a 5G network could help transport a drone carrying a defibrillator to an emergency, as the seven Nordic Prime Ministers vowed to aid operators in rolling out the next generation technology.
Drones could reach patients up to four times faster than ambulances, Ericsson claimed, adding survival rates among heart attack victims who receive treatment within three minutes is 70 percent.
Telia Sweden CTO Mats Lundbäck said: “Working with something that could mean more people surviving means using technology in the best possible way, which is extremely motivating.”
Ericsson CTO Erik Ekudden added: “With 5G you will be able to allocate and guarantee capacity and high bandwidth, in combination with low latency for societal and industry critical use cases, such as the drone defibrillator case. 5G will enable these type of use cases to be delivered safely, flexibly and with the highest quality.”
[Read more: Telia and Ericsson power AR through 5G in Stockholm trial]
The council comprises Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and the Åland Islands. A joint declaration signed by the countries vowed to create “the political and social conditions necessary for the parallel roll out of 5G” across the region.
Prime Minister of Iceland Katrin Jakobsdottir said: “Nordic co-operation will be absolutely crucial to reaching our goals for the development and roll out of 5G.”
Responding to the pledge, the CEOs of Ericsson, Nokia, TDC Group, Tele2 Group, Telenor Group, Telia Company and Vodafone said in a joint statement that they welcomed the recognition 5G will require “substantial investments” as well as regulatory help.
It said: “Swift elaboration of specific, measurable and time-bound actions to facilitate 5G deployment eco-systems will be crucial to create the right conditions for private investment – the foundation of 5G roll-out.
“Appropriate spectrum assignment rules and removing obstacles to the deployment of 5G infrastructure should be at the centre of such action plan.”