The 5G network isn’t just about faster videos.
It allows for more connectivity for autonomous vehicles, robotics, telemedicine, industrial drones and other advanced technology that companies are exploring, said John Avery, director of Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center.
Access to the 5G network opens a wealth of possible innovations, which is why Georgia Tech, the Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners and T-Mobile are teaming to form a new 5G startup incubator.
The 5G Connected Future incubator will be based out of the Curiosity Lab, which is the economic development arm of Peachtree Corners and serves as a living laboratory for 5G technology and autonomous vehicles.
Since September 2019, T-Mobile has partnered with the Curiosity Lab to power the smart city technology park with 5G and allow companies to use the network to test innovations. The new incubator is an expansion of the T-Mobile Accelerator.
“That deep technical knowledge is needed to leverage the capability of 5G,” Avery said of T-Mobile's place in the partnership. “It’s not something many people know how to do well.”
With the infrastructure of the Curiosity Lab, the technical expertise of T-Mobile and the business know-how of ATDC, Curiosity Lab director Betsy Plattenburg said the “opportunities for innovation are almost infinite.”
“If there’s anybody that’s working on something where we can help them move from concept to reality to scale, this is a really cool confluence of expertise,” Plattenburg said.
Though based in Peachtree Corners, the incubator will act much like ATDC’s other industry-focused programs. ATDC has three other verticals, financial technology, retail and health, which have an industry-expert program manager who recruits startups and builds events.
Avery said the 5G Connected Future incubator is now searching for a program manager to lead this new collaboration.
Startups from across the country can apply for the program. Avery said applications will be reviewed as they come in, then the new program manager will take over once hired.
