Some of the longest minutes in the world are those spent roaming. You lose connection with the Bulgarian network, calls and videos fail, and the search and switching to a cell of the foreign telecom begins. For the average user, this is annoying, but for critical systems or future autonomous cars, this crash could be fatal.
That is why nearly 20 projects for cross-border transport corridors are being worked on in Europe, in which neighboring networks work together. The first working one on the continent was presented at the border between Bulgaria and Greece.
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The 5G SEAGUL project with a total value of nearly 11.5 million euros (half of which – from the EC) connects the networks of A1 and Cosmote and thus provides an uninterrupted 5G service between Sofia and Athens. The two telecoms and the company Wings ICT Solutions showed specific applications – from telephone calls to data exchange between moving cars.
How it works?
Traditionally, the transfer to roaming starts at the moment when the signal of the “home” network weakens. 5G SEAGUL changes this, with the two telcos starting to exchange data at a much earlier stage. Thus, switching takes place within milliseconds and most calls and data sessions are not disturbed.
This is important both for ordinary users and for future solutions for automated mobility and real-time data exchange – for traffic data, the status of the given vehicle or even for cutting-edge applications such as the coordinated rebuilding of autonomous vehicles.
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A total of nearly 100 base stations of A1 and Cosmote have been upgraded, with the first stage upgrading the available 4G infrastructure (so-called 5G NSA), and by the end of next year the fifth-generation stand-alone connectivity (so-called 5G SA). It will also enable additional 5G functionalities such as network segmentation, which will be able to guarantee capacity for critical applications.
Source: A1 Bulgaria
In the Kulata-Promahon border crossing area, the network is in the 3.6 gigahertz spectrum, which has a large capacity and enables gigabit speeds. “This was done here because there are large congestions in the summer and this way we will be able to absorb the traffic. There is already a fairly serious penetration of 5G smartphones and they help to relieve the load on the 4G network”, commented Zivko Kovachev, director of “Convergent Network” to Money.bg and services” in A1.
With the upgrade of the base stations on the way to the border, one more of the project’s goals has already been achieved – improving the connection in sparsely populated municipalities in the region.
The challenges
5G SEAGUL steps on technologies that are available on the market, but it is no coincidence that it is the first project of its kind in Europe to reach the demonstration phase.
Cosmote technical project manager Fotini Setaki pointed out that the huge variety of devices connected to networks creates challenges: “Different devices make different decisions about network selection. Because of this, there is still a risk of connection failure.”
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In addition, the structure of the network packages of different telecoms is different and the lack of synchronization creates a risk of deterioration of the quality of service – and this is what the teams of the three companies have been working on.
Infrastructure is also a factor. “It is very difficult to issue permits for the construction of new base stations”, comments Zivko Kovachev. He compared the process of building a base station to that of a house.
Source: A1 Bulgaria
In addition, within the project, a direct connection between Bulgaria and Greece has been established, thus reducing the time delay in data exchange – otherwise the packets have to travel a much longer way through the digital infrastructure in the region.
What’s ahead
Currently, the first phase of 5G SEAGUL is technically ready, with some more steps needed to make it available to consumers. According to Kovachev, at least initially, only the subscribers of the two telecoms will be able to benefit from the continuous connectivity, but “perhaps over time there will have to be some kind of cooperation”.
And there are no shortage of other potential opportunities for collaboration on the Old Continent – including in our country, since a similar corridor will also be built in the direction of Serbia.
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The goal of the European Commission is to have 26,000 km of 5G corridors built by 2030, passing through 49 internal EU borders, explained Atancios Kaskamanidis from the European Executive Agency for Healthcare and Digitalization (HaDEA), from which the funding for 5G SEAGUL comes.
In total, 800 million euros have been set aside for this type of project, and the total investment for their implementation is estimated at 5.4 billion euros. Among them, the most advanced is the Bulgarian-Greek one.
