5G4LIVES: Protecting Lives and the Environment in Riga and Turin
•February 11, 2026
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Why It Matters
By marrying private 5G slices with AI‑driven drones, cities can react instantly to emergencies, setting a new standard for urban safety and creating market opportunities for telecom providers.
Key Takeaways
- •Hybrid private 5G networks deployed in Riga and Turin
- •Automated AI-driven drones provide real-time emergency surveillance for authorities
- •Network slicing allocates dedicated bandwidth for police operations
- •Project funded €3.83 M, €2.87 M from EU’s SE program
- •Enhanced public safety benefits residents, operators, and municipalities
Summary
European municipalities in Riga and Turin are piloting the 5G4LIVES initiative, a hybrid private 5G network designed to boost public‑safety capabilities and environmental monitoring. The project tackles divergent topographies—flat lake‑level terrain in Latvia and hilly, mountainous zones in Italy—by tailoring base‑station placement and leveraging a dedicated 5G slice for emergency services.
A core innovation is the deployment of AI‑enabled drones operated from a central command centre. These drones autonomously patrol high‑risk zones, delivering live video and sensor data to police and first responders, thereby overcoming the latency limits of legacy communication systems. Network slicing further isolates police traffic, guaranteeing uninterrupted bandwidth while citizens and mobile operators access separate slices.
Project leaders highlighted that the drones “watch protected areas and provide real‑time pictures for critical infrastructure,” illustrating how remote piloting and machine‑vision translate into faster incident detection. The €3.83 million budget, with €2.87 million supplied by the EU’s SE programme, underscores the strategic importance placed on resilient urban communications.
If successful, the model could be replicated across Europe, offering municipalities a scalable blueprint for integrating 5G, AI, and drone technology into emergency response, ultimately delivering safer environments for residents and new service opportunities for operators.
Original Description
This video showcases the 5G4LIVES initiative, a project co-financed under the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Digital programme, which aims to accelerate the deployment and uptake of advanced 5G connectivity across Europe in support of innovative public services and critical socio-economic functions. By focusing on real-world applications that address public safety, emergency response and environmental resilience, 5G4LIVES’s implementation spans multiple use cases, including real-time aerial situational awareness, dynamic data forecasting and enhanced emergency management services.
This video is part of the European Broadband Competence Offices Network’s programme promoting awareness of good practices in broadband projects and EU digital connectivity initiatives.
Find out more about this project:
Find out more on the BCO Network:
See more videos in the series:
About CEF Digital:
Connecting Europe Facility (general):
Digital Decade 2030 Policy Programme:
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