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The infrastructure is designed to operate for at least a decade
Vantage Towers, TOTEM, Orange, O2 Telefónica, and Saarland University of Applied Sciences have joined forces to deploy a 5G highway corridor connecting Metz in France to Saarbrücken in Germany.
The “5G Autobahn to Autoroute” (5G A2A) project spans 60km, with construction beginning in early 2025, aiming to complete in late 2027.
The corridor will include a 55km section in France and a 5km stretch in Germany. In France, TOTEM and Orange will install nine new masts and upgrade eight existing ones to provide 5G connectivity using 3.5GHz spectrum. On the German side, Vantage Towers and O2 Telefónica will deploy up to five masts equipped with distributed antenna systems (DAS) on the 3.6 GHz frequency.
Combined, these two deployments will provide reliable 5G coverage along the entire international roadway, supporting advanced mobility services such as lane-changing assistance, collision prevention, and real-time traffic updates. It will also provide a testing ground for autonomous vehicle trials and improve connectivity for travellers crossing the border.
Financial support for the project comes from the EU’s “Connecting Europe Facility Digital” programme and France’s Grand Est administrative region.
“With the establishment of the Franco-German mobile communications corridor, we are advancing digital transformation in Europe. We are creating infrastructure that enables uninterrupted cross-border connectivity and, in the future, the use of advanced mobility applications such as autonomous driving functions – setting new standards for digital connectivity,” said Christian Hillabrant, CEO of Vantage Towers in a press release.
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