Developed prototypes for telecommunication applications are an important result of the cooperation between academia and the industry. Such cooperation on the top directly promotes the creation of new knowledge and the development of technologies, as well as raises Latvia’s competitiveness in the ICT sector.

This year, Riga City Council will invest €150,000 to found a Startup House in the city, a coworking space intended for startups. The project will be implemented by representatives of the startup industry, and the specifics of this place will largely be dependent on startups’ interests and activities.

Last year, €336,000 was earmarked by Riga for innovative economic development and entrepreneurship, reported Labs of Latvia. This was more than 100% more than in 2021. Similarly, twice as much funding as last year has been dedicated to the startup sector this year: the Investment and Tourism Agency of Riga has earmarked €635,000 for various programmes promoting the startup ecosystem and entrepreneurship, including €150,000 for the creation of a Startup House.

Meanwhile, Supreme Headquarters Allied Commander Transformation (ACT) and the Latvian Ministry of Defence have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enable the use of the Latvian 5G test site for defence. An operational technology exploration event will be conducted this autumn to test the Alliance’s latest research and development (R&D) initiatives.

ACT is planning to conduct an operational technology exploration event at the 5G test site in Ādaži, Latvia, in October 2023 that will explore the potential of the Alliance’s R&D initiatives as well as Ādaži’s tactical 5G capabilities. In doing so, this event will see the use of virtual and augmented reality, unmanned vehicles, sensors and applications within a tactical 5G bubble.

The Alliance will test the ability of 5G technologies to enhance the delivery of telehealth services to NATO and national military personnel. By testing the novel capabilities of the next generation of telecommunications networks, ACT will demonstrate how 5G’s ability to provide ultra-reliable and low-latency connections can provide additive capabilities to NATO communication and information systems. It will also demonstrate the use and benefit of 5G technologies in enhancing the awareness, agility, and lethality of NATO’s forces in future conflicts, driving the Alliance’s Digital Transformation and transition to Multi-Domain Operations.

Latvia is uniquely situated to enable the testing of operational 5G technology, having hosted ACT’s first operational 5G experiment in November 2022. This experiment saw augmented and virtual reality software being integrated with 5G mobile telecommunications technologies and concluded with a test at Ādaži.