Satcom 5G-enabled ambulance demonstration

At the Mobile World Congress 2019, Hispasat (ES) and the 5G Barcelona consortium used satellite-enabled 5G to simulate connected emergency healthcare.

A model of an ambulance, equipped with 4G/5G connections and a satellite antenna, replicated the scenario of a patient with a collapsed lung being sped to hospital, with emergency medical personnel in the vehicle consulting specialists at a hospital via a two-way high-definition audio-visual connection.

It showed how in the future, specialists can monitor the patient’s status in real time from the second the patient is picked up, which can be key to their survival and subsequent recovery.

The satellite connection is important, as it will enable seamless content delivery both in urban areas with established 5G networks, and in areas with only a 4G connection or without any terrestrial networks at all. In those scenarios, the satellite will close the loop from space.