​At a time when 5G is being rolled out for mobile phone networks, another type of 5G communications—for critical IoT devices—is being prepared for deployment. So-called "critical" IoT devices are found in industry, medicine, and research, where the high data transmission speeds that are so important for 5G mobile phone networks take a back seat to reliability and low latency.

The CRIIOT (CRItical IoT) project, financed in part through France's Covid recovery program, will help get this type of 5G technology ready for deployment. The idea is to roll out the infrastructures that will be needed for these types of critical communications. Not all of the hardware used will be new. However, there will be changes to certain components and to the communication protocols.

The manufacturers engaged in this project are working on the traditional 5G frequency band of 3.5 GHz. CEA-Leti, however, is investigating millimeter-wave communications—in this case 26 GHz—that have yet to be rolled out and that will ultimately enable low-power 5G IoT solutions. The project includes work on the physical layers of the communication system, on the communication protocol, and on the development of new antennas. A demonstrator will be built to show the feasibility of this kind of millimeter-wave system.