The Israel Innovation Authority and the Ministry of Communications announced on Tuesday the five startups selected to receive total funding of NIS 12.5 million ($3.9 million) to conduct pilots using 5G technology.
Israeli company Monogoto was chosen to receive funds to conduct a pilot for a private 5G network at Israel Chemicals Ltd’s Dead Sea Works. Telecom City Connect will transfer video from a vast collection of cameras as part of a Smart City program based on a 5G network in cooperation with Cellcom. Elbit C4I and Cyber Systems will conduct a pilot for computing technologies for medical centers on top of a 5G network at Rambam Health Care Campus in cooperation with Pelephone. Edgehawk Security will initiate a pilot to examine advanced security solutions and MEC applications in a real time environment in cooperation with HOT Mobile. JpU will conduct an experiment to prove the feasibility of a 5G system in collaboration with the Ministry of Defense’s Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure.
5G. Photo: Shutterstock
As part of the joint program between the Ministry of Communication and the Israel Innovation Authority, the five Israeli companies will receive financial support at a rate of 20% – 50% of the approved R&D expenditure and up to 60% for a program with the potential of having an extraordinary impact on increasing the deployment and the use of advanced communications infrastructure and capabilities in Israel. An additional grant of 10% will be awarded in the event that the approved R&D activity is carried out in areas of national priority and also if the approved commissioning site is located in an area of national priority.
“5G network applications are in development across the world. There is an opportunity for the Israeli tech industry to become a leading force in this sector,” said Director General of the Ministry of Communications, Liran Avisar Ben-Horin.
“The deployment of 5G will lead to growth in GDP, productivity and additional improvements in socio-economic measurements,” said Ami Appelbaum, Chief Scientist and the Chairman of the Board of the Israel Innovation Authority. “The World Bank claims that a 10% increase in the penetration of broadband infrastructure can improve GDP by between 1.21% and 1.38%. There is no doubt that this growth is necessary for the Israeli economy, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic and after it, when more and more working capacities are moving online.”
