Proximus NXT highlights Proximus’ first customer on its 5G innovation platform.

The 5G Innovation Platform enables companies to test and validate their 5G projects with limited investment costs. For the first concrete project, our parent company Proximus in Belgium partnered with Mr. Watts to provide construction companies with a cutting-edge building visualization experience. It enables them to visualize every detail of a project in advance, identify potential issues, and dynamically adapt plans throughout the construction process.

This platform was created with the aim of developing, through collaboration and co-creation, innovative solutions that address the current needs of society and businesses. Following an initial phase of development, integration, and testing, the platform has now reached a sufficient level of maturity to welcome customers.

The launch of this platform embodies our ambition to remain at the forefront of 5G innovation, in collaboration with partners and through co-creation with customers. As the first concrete project demonstrating this ambition, the Proximus Group has entered into a partnership with Mr. Watts and construction company B&R Bouwgroep - Hooyberghs around 3D visualization of construction projects for the construction sector.

Mr. Watts is a dynamic Belgian start-up developing a digital application that enables the visualization of spatial layouts, floor plans, 3D models, and digital twins. The objective is to experiment with building design at scale and within its real-life context. By using HoloLens technology to integrate these 3D models into the real environment, Mr. Watts’ visualizations provide construction professionals with a wealth of information. This enables them to make informed decisions at any stage of the construction process. The high bandwidth, low latency, and highly secure nature of the 5G connection provide the stability required to visualize the final outcome of a project on-site or remotely, with unprecedented accuracy.

Driving innovation through co-creation

With its innovation platform, Proximus aims to enable its professional customers to explore the potential of 5G for their specific business activities in a secure, innovative, and cost-effective way. The areas of activity that can inspire these use cases are numerous: from industrial automation and connected workers to video analytics and drone inspections. When a company expresses interest in testing 5G, Proximus enters a co-creation phase with the customer to assess the application’s potential and manage the practical organization and customer onboarding onto the platform.

Once this process is completed, customers can access the dedicated innovation environment from any location covered by 5G, thanks to an independent 5G setup installed in one of Proximus’ data centers. Customers located in a 5G-covered area can therefore carry out tests directly at their own business site. In addition, for customers located in areas not yet covered by 5G, Proximus has created a dedicated test environment at its headquarters, where customers are welcome to conduct their trials. Depending on the outcome of the testing process, Proximus can guide them towards a 5G solution tailored to their needs or help them assess the long-term potential of investing in their own private network.

With the official launch of the platform, Proximus reaffirms its commitment to engaging in co-creation journeys with interested partners across all sectors. By offering this 5G innovation platform, Proximus continues to position itself as a pioneer in 5G: in addition to being the only operator in Belgium offering publicly accessible 5G connectivity, it is also a trusted partner for businesses in their digital transformation.

“I am very proud to introduce our 5G Innovation Platform dedicated to Enterprise customers. This platform highlights our role as a digital partner for the Belgian economy through innovation, collaboration, and co-creation. It will enable us to innovate faster, support our customers in their digital transformation, and maintain our leadership position in 5G. Our collaboration with Mr. Watts and B&R Bouwgroep - Hooyberghs perfectly illustrates how this open environment can accelerate the deployment of innovative 5G use cases in an agile, pragmatic, and cost-effective way. It gives construction companies the ability to visualize every detail of a project in advance, identify potential issues, and dynamically adapt plans throughout the construction process.”
 

Anne-Sophie Lotgering, Chief Enterprise Market Officer