The International Motor Show (IAA) will take place this year from September 7th to 12th in Munich, Frankfurt am Main. For visitors and exhibitors, Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefónica have equipped the exhibition grounds, which are not restricted to the halls, with 5G so that networked driving can be demonstrated.
This year, the IAA will not only take place on the Munich exhibition grounds in the east of the city, but will also extend over several areas of the city. The so-called summit takes place in the exhibition halls, there are open spaces in the inner city of Munich, and a “blue lane” gives visitors the opportunity to experience new technologies and vehicles live on a 12-kilometer test and transfer route.
< p class = "p text-width">So that fast internet is available for visitors and exhibitors, Germany’s three major network operators have equipped the exhibition grounds and the other locations with 5G and fiber optics in advance, as all three announced today. Networked driving via 5G with low latencies can also be demonstrated, for example when cars warn each other of dangers, onboard entertainment is streamed in high quality or comparable services are to be handled and robotics are to be controlled remotely.
Telekom is building 5G for indoor and outdoor
Deutsche Telekom has implemented 29 new 5G locations in preparation for the trade fair and thus covers the entire outdoor area. In total, the network operator now has over 400 5G locations in Munich. These are supplemented by 25 new indoor locations in the exhibition halls. Four other macro locations are responsible for basic supply in the outdoor areas. According to the company, a complete renovation of the entire antenna infrastructure on the exhibition grounds was necessary, which was then adapted to the fast 3.6 GHz network.

The public 5G network on the exhibition grounds, the Blue Lane and the seven Open Spaces will be supplemented by a campus network based on the public 5G network for exhibitors only. This dedicated cellular connection is intended to ensure high speeds, especially for sensitive 5G applications. For the exhibitors of the Open Spaces there are also fiber optic broadband connections with 1 Gbit/s in the downlink and uplink.
Vodafone hangs indoor antennas on
Vodafone has installed more than one hundred indoor antennas for 5G on the exhibition grounds, which at 30 × 20 cm are slightly larger than a smoke detector. This means that 5G is available on the entire 200,000 square meters of the exhibition grounds. Vodafone relies on 5G standalone (5G SA) in Munich in order to be able to demonstrate particularly low latencies of 10 milliseconds. Vodafone also supplies the outside areas of the exhibition grounds with mobile communications. A campus network should enable separate subnets for individual exhibitors in the future. In the Munich metropolitan area, Vodafone has 350 5G antennas at around 120 locations.
Telefónica is bringing 5G to the A94
At Telefónica, around 150 5G antennas and 40 kilometers of high-frequency cables were laid in the 18 exhibition halls, three parking garages and three entrance halls. In addition, the company provides the Blue Lane for emission-free vehicles on the A94 with what it claims to be complete 5G coverage. For example, passengers in shuttle buses should be able to experience digital entertainment using virtual reality glasses between the Feldkirchen-West and Leuchtenbergring connections.