5G in the foreground of the Swisscom Startup Challenge 2020

5G is envisioned to boost and transform mobile experiences through ultra-fast, robust broadband connections and low latency for business and society. A study by Valuates projects the global 5G infrastructure market – which was valued at USD 371.4 million in 2017 size – to reach USD 58.174 Billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 95.8% in 2025.

Although the potential is huge, it is not clear what the major applications will be. Swisscom, as one of the leading telecommunication providers, is seeking to contribute to the development of the technology. It has set the goal to foster and transform new ideas into final solutions through the newly designed Swisscom Startup Challenge held in collaboration with Venturelab. Program partners include Ericsson and Qualcomm. 

International reach, local development
Unlike previous editions where Swiss start-ups travelled to Silicon Valley, the new program targets start-ups and research teams worldwide, including Switzerland, that are working on applications of 5G technology.

Eligible to apply are applicants that meet the following criteria:

• They are developing a  prototype/product that requires the functionalities of 5G and is not or only very limitedly feasible with 4G

• The team should be able to present the prototype/product in working order during the Exploration Week in March in the Swisscom 5G live network or 5G laboratory

• The use case must be applicable in Switzerland

Call for applications
Registration for the Swisscom Startup Challenge is now open until 11th October. Following the expiry of the deadline, the selection team will identify the ten finalists that will pitch their solutions to the jury on 17th December after which the jury will announce the five winners that will participate in the Exploration program from 22nd to 26th March 2021.

During the exploration week, participants will travel to Switzerland. They will have the opportunity to further develop and test their cases at Swisscom’s 5G laboratory where they will get access to different services and testing tools as well as access to the live Swisscom 5G network at various locations and 5G enabled devices. Additionally, the teams will work with, receive expert 5G experts, and meet different players at events and company visits in Switzerland. The five selected winners will also get free tickets to the MWC 2021 in Barcelona, among others.

(RAN)