The press release from February states: "The special thing about the Siemens infrastructure is that it will remain permanently in the exhibition hall and will be handed over to Deutsche Messe for commercial use." Does this mean that Deutsche Messe will have sovereignty over the Siemens infrastructure or will the 5G network in Hall 9 be managed and operated by Siemens all year round?

Marcus Eibach: Once completed, the Siemens 5G Campus network in Hall 9 will be managed and operated jointly with Siemens throughout the year. In close partnership with Siemens, we as Deutsche Messe offer the use of the campus network for testing and demonstration purposes for 5G products, solutions and applications. The focus here is on industry use cases.

The basic operation of the network is carried out by Deutsche Messe. This includes writing SIM cards, registering devices and switching the system on and off. Siemens will then take care of additional issues such as expansion and upgrades, as well as diagnostics in the event of potential problems.

Exhibitors can use the network for tests and field trials during ongoing trade fairs. This will give exhibitors in Hall 9 a significant unique selling point compared to exhibitors in the other exhibition halls. Are you creating a run on Hall 9 explicitly in relation to the Hannover Messe? In other words, won't this put exhibitors in other halls at a disadvantage?

Marcus Eibach: Not at all. In addition to the development and expansion of the Industrial 5G
Campus network from Siemens in Hall 9, the 5G mobile communications standard is being rolled out across the entire exhibition grounds. Telekom is the technology partner for this expansion. Telekom is implementing this campus network as a hybrid network. In future, we will have a private network that will enable our exhibitors and guest organizers of all trade fairs in Hanover to present their 5G-capable products, solutions and applications live. At the same time, visitors to the trade fairs will have excellent coverage with Deutsche Telekom's public 5G network on the exhibition grounds.

Will there be something like a testbed in Hall 9, which companies can use to carry out tests and trials in conjunction with other companies' products?

Marcus Eibach: This is exactly the kind of scenario we want to realize, because that will be the reality in the production environment. These requirements were indicated to us in a number of preliminary discussions and we are now looking forward to receiving the first concrete inquiries. The size of the hall enables industrial users to test applications in all formats with 5G right now. This means that not only large companies but also small and medium-sized enterprises can test 5G technology at a very early stage of development without having to invest in their own campus network.

Operation of the campus network is set to begin in September. Can or have interested companies already registered to use the network?

Marcus Eibach: We have already acquired our first customer for our 5G Smart Venue in the field of smart mobility: SMEV has developed a patented innovation technology that will guarantee emergency vehicles the fastest possible route to the scene of an emergency in future. SMEV is using the 5G infrastructure of our Smart Venue to further develop its technology and prepare it for real-life use.

The integration of Deutsche Messe and the exhibition grounds into the Test Field Lower Saxony consortium opens up exciting new opportunities for us to cooperate with companies and research institutions in the fields of autonomous driving and connected mobility. We are also in talks with companies from a wide range of sectors.