Monaco has won yet another prize. Since July 2019, Monaco is the very first European country to be fully covered by the 5G network. In the frame of the Extended Monaco Program launched by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, 5G was successfully implemented thanks to a vital partnership between Monaco Telecom, the Monegasque service provider, and Chinese giant Huawei, in an astonishing record time. It represents the first step of the digital transition program and Monaco’s small territory helped its fast implementation, without compromizing its excellent quality.
Concretely, what will 5G bring to Monaco? As explained by Chief Digital Officer Mr. Frederic Genta, it will deeply revolutionize the everyday life in the Principality, which is on its way to become a “smart city”, and connect all sectors together. It will integrate digital technology in the society and the economy so that administration, health, security, education or infrastructures can be linked and related. That implies a deep transformation of the current system for more efficiency and a better communication between the different services. On top of that, it will obviously improve the high-speed mobile access which is crucial as Monaco gets very crowded during events such as the Grand Prix, where more than 200,000 people need a fast and reliable internet connection. Particularly, it is crucial to highlight the positive impact 5G will have on mobility across the Principality, a point that cannot be neglected in such a densely populated country, where 45,000 people come to work there everyday, adding to the 39,000 residents.
Thanks to the 5G technology, a self-driven shuttle has been put into effect in the old town, serving both residents and tourists, which aims at reducing the number of cars, promoting public transport and reducing its environmental impact. It is still at the experimental stage and is planned to be extended to the whole city, which would help overcome the lack of night buses and serving areas in which current public transport cannot operate. Last but not least, regarding soft-mobility improvements in the Principality, “Mona-bike” was put into place last summer. This new electric bike sharing scheme is accessible to both locals and visitors as it works with a smartphone app and encourages moving in the city by bike and not by the polluting means of transportation (more than 700 bikes are now accessible all across the Principality).
5G will deeply transform Monaco, and for good! Many countries such as Finland, the UK and France are inspired by this new model, proving its efficiency and attractiveness.