Detailed description
Network
In the 5G-BECOME project, OTE, Greece’s largest telecommunications provider, will deploy a standalone 5G Mobile Private Network (MPN) with local breakout and edge computing capabilities to deliver innovative services across the NTUA campus. Located in the heart of Athens, NTUA qualifies the deployment as urban, enabling easy access to advanced 5G services. The network is designed to support devices such as XR glasses for the XR Hybrid Learning Platform UC, and custom On-Board Units (OBUs) on test or experimental vehicles for the Automotive Open Platform & Digital Twins Environment UC , with each device featuring a dedicated SIM card.
Consequently, the infrastructure spans both indoor and outdoor environments: up to three indoor deployments will facilitate XR-assisted classes, while approximately six outdoor located sites will drive advanced research in automotive applications and beyond.
Devices
The end-user equipment selected for the project is tailored to the primary use cases and evaluation scenarios of 5G-BECOME.
For the XR Hybrid Learning Platform UC, this includes headsets for XR-assisted classrooms across various NTUA disciplines. For the Automotive Open Platform & Digital Twins Environment UC, custom On-Board Units (OBUs)—comprising mini Personal Computers, Raspberry PIs, NVIDIA Jetson series, and other embedded systems—are paired with sensors such as cameras, localization modules, LiDAR, and more to support the automotive platform, group activities, thesis, and research initiatives.
Deployment
The 5G-BECOME project is focused on deploying network infrastructure within the NTUA campus, located near the urban centre of Athens, Greece. This deployment encompasses both indoor and outdoor deployments to support the project’s two main UCs.
For indoor environments, up to three in-building antenna systems will be installed, providing network coverage to specific classrooms and amphitheatres at NTUA.
Outdoors, the objective is to achieve comprehensive campus-wide radio coverage and robust connectivity by deploying approximately six radio sites on selected academic buildings/structures within the campus. Additionally, the private network infrastructure is expected to serve at least 500 students and faculty members.
Regarding existing infrastructure, indoor and outdoor sites will leverage -if possible- the current Fibre Optic infrastructure linking NTUA buildings and schools.
Before any implementation work, the permits required by law will have been secured.
Edge Cloud
The 5G-BECOME network leverages local breakout and integrates edge computing servers within the NTUA premises. The edge data centre is envisioned to be housed in NTUA’s central computer building. The hardware will be based on commercial off-the-self components installed in a physical rack. High performance server configuration will consist of Intel based Central Processing Units (CPUs) from 5th Generation and Gold product line. Basic Hardware setup will be delivered from HPE and Gen11 product line.
To meet high performance requirements on network Input/Output (I/O), multiple Nvidia MX-6 Network Interface Cards (NICs) operating in 25Gbps per port will be included in the setup. To cover carrier grade networking requirements, Cisco NEXUS 9k series switches will guarantee the communication between the Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) environment and local User Plane Function. This edge data centre will be a critical component for both use cases of 5G-BECOME, hosting the XR learning platform, the 5G experimentation platform, while supporting relevant AI/ML tasks, Digital Twins’ technology, and other compute-intensive applications and services.
Technical characteristics
For the 5G-BECOME private standalone network, which leverages advanced features such as network slicing and the Network Exposure Function (NEF), with expected practical performance up to 500Mbps in the downlink and up to 100Mbps in the uplink, depending on terminal device capabilities and application traffic type. The outdoor deployment will utilize licensed spectrum in the N78 band, with the potential inclusion of additional SA frequency bands in the detailed design to enhance support for outdoor or indoor scenarios. Overall, the 5G-BECOME network will enable higher user and device density compared to legacy networks, while significantly outperforming 4G in terms of data rates and latency.
Business models
With respect to long-term financing, the NTUA campus network planned revenue streams comprise:
- Licenses for the use of infrastructures by third party operators such as tech companies implementing use cases that involve the 5G-BECOME developed infrastructures.
- New courses enabled by the 5G infrastructure that can be offered to students and professors, including similar activities from other departments.
Newsletter
If you wish to Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest news and updates, please fill the field bellow:
* By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy.
Project Manager
Pavlos Basaras – pbasaras@mail.ntua.gr
Communications Manager
Sofia Oikonomou – sofia.oikonomou@iccs.gr
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions
expressed are however those of the author(s) only and
do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union
or European Health and Digital Executive Agency
(HADEA). Neither the European Union nor the
granting authority can be held responsible for them.