The lab will be used to develop and test innovative and concrete 5G applications in collaboration with customers, prospects and partners, Orange said.
This lab follows the unveiling of its first 5G Lab in Belgium which opened last year in Antwerp.
Xavier Pichon, CEO at Orange Belgium said: "After the opening of our first Orange 5G Lab in Antwerp and its great success in generating a positive dynamic in the region, we are delighted to be able to develop 5G and its applications in Wallonia as well.
“Here we will be able to facilitate the innovation and creativity of local actors and demonstrate 5G’s potential in a fully transparent manner while basing ourselves on a first-class national and international network.
“We aim to cover 40% of the population with 5G by 2023 and 90% by 2025. Moreover, this approach supports the Walloon economic recovery plan and fits within its objectives to support start-ups, stimulate innovation, foster sustainability and assist training and economic development."
Since the Orange 5G Lab’s radio network is connected to the Orange 5G Core system, the development of new use cases allows it to deploy and easily scale them to customers’ premises.
In addition, the lab hosts various types of certified 5G devices: routers, smartphones, tablets and smart glasses and cameras that work on a 5G Standalone (SA) network and are tested and validated by Orange engineers.
The new lab is 8,000m square of total surface area including private offices, 200 coworking spaces and many multimedia studios.
The company adds that it is inviting all start-ups, scale-ups and industrial players who are interested in the technology to try out 5G functionalities and access certified equipment.
