LIVE FROM HUAWEI GLOBAL MBB FORUM 2021, DUBAI: Nadia Benabdallah, network strategy and engineering director at Vodafone Group (pictured), emphasised the importance of building 5G in the right way by employing a mix of spectrum assets, an ethos she claimed led to initial success in implementing a range of use cases across Europe.

Benabdallah described spectrum as one of Vodafone’s most precious assets and with 5G at the heart of a wider technology strategy, she explained it was important to ensure the operator made use of all its available frequencies as it strives to push next-generation connectivity across Europe.

The Vodafone executive explained low-band spectrum is essential to ensure nationwide coverage and putting 5G in homes, with mid-band complementing this to enhance coverage and capacity across metropolitan areas.

In high-band, Benabdallah cited 3.5GHz as the “novelty” differentiator for 5G, enabling greater capacity and speed and complementing future 6G rollouts.

Use cases
Benabdallah detailed successful use cases Vodafone implemented as reasons to “build 5G right”.

These include implementing network slicing in Germany in partnership with car maker Porsche; using 5G for various use cases at a refinery in Spain; conducting a smart substation trial in the UK; and deploying a sensor system to monitor and manage the journey of bread as part of an agricultural project in Italy managed with AI.

Unlike previous mobile generations, the success of 5G will be measured more by use cases than the the percentage coverage of the technology, Benabdallah argued.