France, Germany to support joint 5G projects

France and Germany would support four projects on 5G applications for private networks with a total of 17.7 million euros (20.1 million U.S. dollars), the countries' Ministries of Economic Affairs said on Friday.

The aim is to "deliver innovative solutions that will strengthen Europe's ecosystem for private networks in the field of 5G telecommunications," their statement noted.

"I am looking forward to an intensive collaboration between France and Germany," said Robert Habeck, Germany's federal minister for economic affairs and climate action. "This is an important step in order to drive the economy forward with the help of state-of-the-art technologies."

Back in 2020, France and Germany already agreed to strengthen cooperation in the field of 5G applications and subsequently launched a call for funding of innovation projects in early 2021.

The four projects involving 16 German and 14 French partners would show the benefits of 5G in various application scenarios, such as Industry 4.0 (the "fourth industrial revolution"), business parks and smart operating theaters, the statement said.

"The constitution of a Franco-German sovereign ecosystem on 5G and future telecommunications network technologies will play a key role to position Europe at the forefront of innovation in 5G and its evolutions," France's Minister for the Economy, Finance and Recovery Bruno Le Maire said. (1 euro = 1.13 U.S. dollar)