Verizon opens 5G lab in Florida

NEW YORK – Local startups, universities, large enterprises and the public sector will soon be able to develop and test 5G-enabled solutions at Verizon Business' new 5G Innovation Hub in Lake Nona, a "living lab" smart community located in Orlando, FL. The new Innovation Hub will provide an opportunity to test 5G use cases for connected healthcare, autonomous mobility, smart communities, education, retail and others. Created by the Tavistock Group, Lake Nona is home to thousands of residents (known as "citizen scientists"), students, visitors, national headquarters and leading healthcare facilities and is focused on providing an ideal landscape to create new and innovative experiences across a multitude of industries.

With Verizon's 5G Ultra Wideband network on site, innovators will be able to test how Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband's super-fast speeds, ultra-high bandwidth and ultra-low latency can enhance applications for industries prevalent in Lake Nona such as connected healthcare and technology, autonomous mobility, smart communities, health and wellness, education, retail and sports.

One of the 5G trials already underway at Lake Nona involves testing Cellular Vehicle-To-Everything (C-V2X) technology with Beep, an Autonomous Mobility-as-a-Service provider. The initial pilot will examine how C-V2X can improve the safety of Beep's autonomous shuttles, which currently operate on several routes throughout the community. The C-V2X pilot involves Verizon's 4G LTE and 5G Ultra Wideband networks, Multi-Access Edge Compute (MEC), Real Time Kinematics (RTK), and Computer Vision.

"5G is paving the way for unprecedented innovations that will reshape the world and have a massive impact on how we live, work, and play," said Sampath Sowmyanarayan, SVP and President of Enterprise at Verizon. "We're creating Innovation Hubs powered by Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband to serve as launch pads for high-impact, transformational experiences and are excited to see the new 5G use cases that will be developed in Lake Nona."

The new Innovation Hub will also showcase existing 5G use cases for visitors to experience and includes an Executive Briefing Center that will provide prospects and customers with access to Verizon leadership and subject matter experts. Verizon started deploying its 5G Ultra Wideband network in Lake Nona earlier this year.

"Tavistock is fully committed to the cultivation of 5G technology to usher in a new era of connectivity," said Juan Santos, Senior Vice President of Innovation at Tavistock. "A 5G-enabled future will transform our daily lives in ways we've only just begun to imagine. We're excited to expand our 5G capabilities in Lake Nona and to attract the brightest minds and biggest ideas to the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Orlando."

This engagement is part of Verizon Business' broader strategy to partner with

enterprises, startups, universities, national labs and government/military to explore how 5G can disrupt and transform nearly every industry. Verizon operates six 5G Labs in the U.S. and one in London that specialize in developing uses cases in industries ranging from healthcare to public safety to entertainment. In addition, Verizon is setting up 5G Innovation Hubs on-premise for several customers as part of an ongoing initiative to partner on 5G-related use cases to help customers transform their industries.

Verizon