5G cross-border corridor between Greece & Bulgaria with COSMOTE’s contribution

- COSMOTE's participation in the European 5G SEAGUL project
- Implementation of 5G infrastructure to support Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) services

- Demonstration of seamless roaming for voice, data and CAM services under real conditions

COSMOTE participates in the European project 5G SEAGUL^[1] for the development of the 5G cross-border corridor between Greece and Bulgaria, supporting advanced Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) functionalities. The aim of the project is to ensure broad 5G coverage along more than 450 km of the Sofia-Thessaloniki-Athens road axis, meeting the demanding requirements of CAM services. Through intensive testing under real conditions, seamless roaming connectivity for basic and complex mobile telephony and CAM services has already been confirmed in the context of the project; thus, paving the way for safe driving of autonomous, connected or self-driving vehicles on European motorways.

Connected and Automated Mobility will be a catalyst for improving road safety, optimising road traffic, reducing CO2 emissions, and contributing to the industrial competitiveness of both the transport and mobility sectors in Europe.

The project is co-funded by the European Commission through the Connecting Europe Facility-Digital (CEF-Digital)^[2] programme for the development of large-scale 5G cross-border corridors across Europe and contributes to the objectives of the European Union's strategy for the green and digital transformation of the economy and society.

Under the project, the mobile telecommunication providers COSMOTE and A1BG, from Greece and Bulgaria, respectively, will ensure 5G coverage on the national motorways on both sides of the border. For Greece, COSMOTE will cover 300 km of the national motorway, from Velestino in Magnesia to Promachonas in Serres, with 5G services, while in Bulgaria, A1BG will cover the 173 km of the Kulata-Sofia motorway. In addition, the network infrastructure to be deployed will serve the increased requirements for seamless connectivity and roaming in selected use cases of mobile telephony (voice and data) services, as well as CAM services as defined by the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA).

On Wednesday, 24 April, the first demonstration in Europe of seamless roaming scenarios took place at the Promachonas-Kulata border line, between COSMOTE and A1BG networks, under real conditions, in the presence of representatives from the two countries and the European Commission. Specifically, there was a demonstration - while roaming - of high-quality and uninterrupted: voice calls, data services, such as video calls via OTT apps (Viber, WhatsApp), and entertainment services such as live video streaming. In addition, two 5G CAM applications were presented: one in the field of safe driving, referring to traffic situation awareness in real-time, and another one in the field of transport, for easy, safe and sustainable transport of goods.^[3] The recent demonstration completes the testing activities on the current 5G networks, while the study for the corresponding tests on 5G SA (Standalone) networks is continuing.

Mr. George Tsonis, OTE Group's Network Planning & Devops Executive Director, stated: "At COSMOTE we systematically promote innovation by testing a wide range of cutting-edge technologies from their early stages of development. By participating in the European 5G SEAGUL project, we are preparing the 5th generation networks that in the near future will contribute to the efficiency and safety of autonomous and connected mobility on Europe's main roads."

COSMOTE, as the technical manager of the project, guides the architecture and design of the required solution and leads the study for seamless roaming on the cross-border corridor. In addition to A1BG, WINGS ICT Solutions is participating in 5G SEAGUL as project coordinator. The project has a total duration of three years and will be completed at the end of 2025.

OTE Group is a pioneer in technological development and is by far the largest telecommunications infrastructure investor in Greece. Currently 45 innovative EU-funded research and development (R&D) programmes are under way, while since 2009 OTE Group has participated in more than120 R&D projects in total. In tandem, OTE Group's New Technologies Labs evaluate the new technologies and equipment of future telecommunications. Through technology and innovation, OTE Group is creating a better world for all.

Map of the cross-border road corridor between Greece and Bulgaria

Snapshot from the demonstration

^[1]5G SEAGUL - 5G Seamless Roaming for the Greece-Bulgaria Cross-Border Corridor: https://5g-seagul.eu
^[2] Supported and implemented by the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) in the framework of Grant Agreement No 101094584

^[3] Note that the services mentioned are not yet commercially available