Sri Lanka's Dialog Axiata has teamed up with Ericsson to establish the market's first 5G innovation center.
The new center will seek to encourage Sri Lankans to develop innovative IoT and ICT technologies and solutions. It will engage in collaborative research with local universities and global institutions.
Researchers and entrepreneurs will be able to use the center's facilities to design and develop prototypes and conduct verification testing. Developers, academics and ecosystem partners will also be able to test 5G capabilities on-site.
The center will be backed by investments of over 500 million rupees ($2.89 million) in connectivity, equipment and infrastructure, the two companies said.
“The 5G Innovation Center is another milestone in Dialog’s Technology leadership as we prepare to commercially launch 5G, ahead of the rest of South Asia,” Dialog Axiata group CEO Supun Weerashinghe said.
“5G sets a capable environment to help fast track IoT developments along with next generation video and robot/manufacturing automation. Advancing the transformational technology of 5G in Sri Lanka will enable exciting possibilities across education, health, agriculture and manufacturing and also harness entrepreneurship and provide a springboard for in-country talent.”