The proving ground in Southern Italy, which is owned by Porsche and operated by Porsche Engineering, now offers its customers a real-time communication network, which promises reduced delays, wider bandwidth, improved security and reliability, and faster deployment time. NTC thus further underlines its role as a leading technology partner for the integrated development and validation of intelligent and connected vehicles of the global automotive industry.
The new mobile network infrastructure
enables 4G and 5G coverage throughout the testing center, which occupies
an area of over 700 hectares in the Apulian region and has more than 20
tracks for high-performance testing. With the Vodafone Business 5G
solution, NTC aims to enable its customers to efficiently develop and
validate a wide range of future business-critical applications, from new
connectivity, vehicle-to-infrastructure, vehicle-to-vehicle and
highly-automated driving functions to self-driving vehicles.
As a
next generation MPN, the new system features a hybrid infrastructure,
using a private network fully integrated into Vodafone’s public mobile
network. Thanks to this innovative design, both private and public
coverage is provided at the same location. Thus, the local population
can benefit from the availability of the fast 5G public network and at
the same time NTC’s customers can make use of a private network that
guarantees high standards in data security. Besides the new mobile
network, now NTC also offers its customers a high-performance 1 Gbit/s
connection. This allows a fast and direct connection to the cloud,
enabling a globally networked cooperation and even more efficient
data-driven engineering.
The new network marks another important
chapter in the future-oriented development of the testing center. Since
the acquisition of NTC by Porsche in 2012, continuous investments in the
modernisation and technological upgrade of the proving ground have been
made. Besides investments in workshops, safety systems, and other
tracks, the famous 12.6 km circular track, with a diameter of 4 km, was
completely renovated in 2019 - including the laying of fibre-optic
cables for fast data transmission and for appropriate road signage to
validate automated driving. NTC’s new 5G network is part of broader
collaboration initiatives between Porsche and Vodafone that, in August
2021, led to the deployment of a standalone 5G network at the Porsche
Development Center in Weissach, Germany.