French telecom group Orange will open nine Orange 5G Labs this year and one of them will be located in Romania.

Seven of these sites will be in France and one in Belgium. Thus, Romania is one of the first countries where Orange will allow companies and authorities to test 5G technologies.

“We believe that 5G will drive business competition and regional development. This is why Orange is involved in a co-innovation approach focused on 5G to create the uses of the future. Having a local presence close to these players is a key part of the Orange 5G Labs initiative, to support the digital transformation of economic players and to help everyone take advantage of 5G’s potential,” said Michäel Trabbia, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at Orange.

The Orange 5G Lab in Romania will open in Bucharest in partnership with the Bucharest Polytechnic University.

Its goal is to foster the development of commercial projects, research and innovation. Orange is the leader of the Romanian telecom market by number of clients and revenues.

The French group is currently in the process of taking over German group Deutsche Telekom’s Romanian fixed communications division, a deal that should be completed at the middle of this year, after all the regulatory approvals.

(Photo courtesy of the company)

andrei@romania-insider.com