TELENET GROUP

Their core work

Telenet Group is one of Belgium's largest commercial telecommunications operators, providing broadband, cable, and mobile services including live 5G network infrastructure. In H2020 research, they contribute as a real-world 5G deployment partner — not a lab simulation — allowing consortia to test transport and logistics applications on a functioning commercial network. Their role bridges the gap between controlled research environments and actual network conditions, which is rare and valuable in EU Innovation Actions. They have focused specifically on connected mobility corridors and logistics testbeds in Belgium, including port and warehouse scenarios.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Telenet entered H2020 through a project focused on specific transport use cases — connected automated vehicles, C-ITS corridors, and teleoperated driving — where their 5G network served a defined application. Their second project shifted toward open, multi-tenant experimentation infrastructure: a virtual platform where multiple vertical industries (including SMEs at ports and warehouses) could run their own trials. This signals a deliberate move from being a use-case partner to positioning their network as reusable experimentation infrastructure for a broader audience.

Telenet is evolving from a named use-case partner in specific transport trials toward a platform provider offering open 5G testbed access — a direction that makes them increasingly attractive as infrastructure anchor in future vertical-industry consortia.

How they like to work

Telenet participates exclusively as a consortium partner, never as coordinator — consistent with a large operator contributing infrastructure assets rather than driving research agendas. Both projects involved large, multi-country consortia, which is typical for EU 5G Innovation Actions where a telecom operator anchors the network layer while research and industry partners build applications on top. They function as an enabling layer: their presence unlocks real-world validation that pure-research partners cannot provide on their own.

Across just two projects, Telenet has worked with 45 unique partners spanning 10 countries, reflecting the large, pan-European consortia characteristic of 5G Innovation Actions. Their network is broad but concentrated in the ICT and transport verticals rather than cross-sector.

What sets them apart

Telenet's differentiator is straightforward: they own and operate a live commercial 5G network in Belgium, which most consortium partners cannot replicate in a lab. This makes them one of very few partners who can offer genuine over-the-air 5G trials at scale, with real network conditions including congestion, handover, and latency variation. For any consortium targeting Belgian logistics corridors, ports, or smart mobility, Telenet is the natural network anchor — and their move toward open SME experimentation platforms means smaller companies can now access their infrastructure without a full EU project partnership.

Highlights from their portfolio

• 5G-Blueprint
  Telenet's largest H2020 project (€1M+ EC funding), focused on 5G-enabled connected and automated mobility corridors — a flagship use case for commercial telecom operators entering EU research.
• VITAL-5G
  Marks Telenet's shift toward open experimentation infrastructure, introducing virtual testbed access and SME trials at ports and warehouses — a broader, more scalable model than single-use-case projects.