Ghent University of Applied Sciences is working with Citymesh to launch a private 5G network on campus. The project is a first for a technical college in Belgium.

The B2B telecommunications operator Citymesh and the Ghent University of Applied Sciences, or HOGENT for short, announce a strategic collaboration under the name “5Genius”. The project aims to create a digital ecosystem that supports education, research and internal operations across three campus locations. The connective tissue of this digital ecosystem is the private 5G network. Ghent University of Applied Sciences will be the first university of applied sciences in Belgium to introduce 5G on this scale.

Smart agriculture

The introduction of private 5G enables new research projects on the Ghent University of Applied Sciences campus. The university will use it, among other things, for its “Smart Farming” project Proefhoeve Bottelare, an important research project on crop protection and sustainable agriculture. Sensor-based applications measure the dryness of the soil in the fields and also provide data for a more targeted use of crop protection products.

Due to the limited range on the site, it is not possible to implement this project using WiFi alone. Private 5G comes into play where the range of WLAN reaches its limits. The Ghent University of Applied Sciences also wants to connect drones with sensors to the network and also sees general opportunities for IT.

“A 5G network ensures that Proefhoeve Bottelare not only has the most advanced sensors and technologies, but can also fully focus on the precision agriculture of the future, where ‘intelligent use of data’ is crucial.” And of course “This is also a big benefit for training: we can train our students in smart farming,” says HOGENT researcher Kevin Dewitte.

More than “better WiFi”

Also a private 5G network independent It’s called 5G and it’s supported by on-premise infrastructure. The advantage for the user of a private 5G network is that, unlike public networks, he does not have to share it with anyone or anything. This results in the advantages of 5G, such as: Network slicing and low latency to the fullest.

Citymesh emphasizes that private 5G is not simply “better and faster WiFi”. It illustrates this point with the metaphor of a highway. WiFi can be compared to a highway that everyone can use. When too many cars enter the highway at the same time, traffic slows down. In a private 5G network, you as a user decide how many cars you allow on your highway. This significantly reduces the risk of network congestion, resulting in a faster and more reliable network.