AsiaNet  85760

ZÜRICH, Sept. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Switzerland's leading telecommunications and IT company Swisscom is joining

forces with Ericsson and Qualcomm CDMA Technologies GmbH to identify the

world's most innovative startups and research teams working on 5G applications.

The five winners of the Swisscom StartUp Challenge

[http://www.swisscom.com/5gstartupchallenge] will be invited to Switzerland in

2021 for an Exploration Week during which they will have the opportunity to

carry out extensive testing on their prototypes in Swisscom's live 5G network

and take them to the next level. They will have access to the Swisscom 5G lab,

its live network and to 5G devices, and will receive the support of experts and

mentors from Ericsson, Qualcomm CDMA Technologies and Swisscom. The deadline

for applications is 11 October 2020.

With its ultra-fast, robust broadband connections and low latency, 5G – the

latest generation of mobile communications – opens up a whole host of new

possibilities. A worldwide battle is raging to be among the pioneers building

the first networks to take advantage of this technology at an early stage. In

April 2019, Swisscom was the first European provider – and the fifth in the

world – to go live with its 5G network and it continues to constantly expand

it. The winners will benefit from this head start: Swisscom is now joining

forces with partners Ericsson and Qualcomm CDMA Technologies to launch the

Swisscom 5G Startup Challenge and is inviting the winners to carry out

extensive testing on their applications in the live 5G network and take them to

the next level.

Launched in 2013, the Swisscom StartUp Challenge is focusing entirely on 5G in

2020 and this year, for the very first time, is open to startups and research

teams from around the world. In the past seven years, the winners of the

challenge, including Ava, Exeon Analytics, Futurae and Sentifi, have each

travelled to Silicon Valley for a week-long Acceleration Programme. This year,

Swisscom and its partners will invite the winners to spend a week in

Switzerland, where they will have the opportunity to carry out extensive

testing on the latest mobile generation's most innovative applications and take

them to the next level – in the Swisscom network.

Pick up expert knowledge and explore Switzerland

Startups and research teams from across the world who want to exploit 5G's

potential and have already developed a product or prototype are invited to

apply. Applications must be received at www.swisscom.com/5gstartupchallenge by

11 October 2020. The 10 most interesting applications will then be invited to

the final in December 2020. The top five 5G innovators will travel to

Switzerland in March 2021, where they will have the chance to spend a week

performing test cases at Swisscom's 5G lab or in different locations, regions

and also on trains across the live network. They will be supported every step

of the way by mentors and experts from Ericsson, Qualcomm CDMA Technologies,

Venturelab and Swisscom and will have the opportunity to exchange ideas with

top entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. In addition, the winners will be

able to explore Switzerland, visiting leading global innovation facilities,

such as the Federal Institute of Technology and the Federal Institute of

Technology Lausanne, and meeting pioneers of business and technology. Travel

costs, accommodation and meals will be covered by Swisscom.

A trip to the 2021 Mobile World Congress

In November 2020, the general public will also be given the chance to vote for

their favourite application. The startup or research team that wins the public

vote will travel to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in spring 2021.

Logo -

https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1280142/Swisscom_StartUp_Challenge_2020_Logo.jpg

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Press contacts:

Swisscom

Media Relations

Florian Maag

Tel: +41 (0) 58 221 9804

Email: media@swisscom.com

Source: Swisscom