Ericsson’s new private 5G network in Istres, France, slashes surveillance costs, boosts city resilience, and sets a model for mid-sized smart-city deployments – delivering scalable infrastructure, sovereign control, and rapid returns.
In sum – what to know:
Gateway application – Istres has cut CCTV deployment costs by 600% – from €30K to €5K per unit – with private 5G.
Turning point – outdoor 5G in a mid-sized municipality signals new momentum for public-sector smart-city deployments.
Sustainability focus – infrastructure enables AI, encrypted comms, and carbon-cutting services for urban transformation.
Ericsson has deployed a private 5G network in the city of Istres, near Marseille in southern France. Which is interesting for the industry for a number of reasons – because of the type of deployment, the value of its application, and the sense of purpose from its author. The Swedish vendor has worked on the project with French industrial integrator SPIE and French edge/cloud data specialist Unitel.
The headline takeaway, probably, is that the local municipal/departmental council in Istres has made a 600 percent saving to connect a city-wide CCTV surveillance network on a brand new cellular network – reasons Ericsson. This is the use case that swung the deal, it seems. The calculation goes like this: stringing up CCTV on fibre works out at a cost of €30,000 per unit, including all ducting, civil works, and installation, plus the camera itself.
The new private 5G setup costs €5,000 per camera, which covers the router and the camera, plus their installation. Just 10 cameras was sufficient for Istres to cover the network’s cost – versus the alternative. Ericsson called it a “favourable ROI”. But the use case is more significant, arguably. Istres is a mid-sized city, of less than 50,000 people. Ericsson says it is one of the first in Europe to implement a “sovereign private 5G infrastructure” for critical comms.
The whole setup – the venue, the application, the ambition – goes under this difficult ‘smart city’ tag. And coverage from Small Cells World Summit this week says just how difficult urban outdoor deployments can be, particularly when the public sector is involved. (Which is the whole smart-cities story, in a nutshell.) Generally, private 5G has seen most sales in indoor or semi-indoor (campus / private outdoor) venues, notably in industrial settings.
So the fact Ericsson, which is on a late tear-up in the private 5G space, is trumpeting an outdoor installation in a mid-sized city, negotiated (via its partners) with a local council, is significant – and justified in PR terms. It looks like a good model, and a good win – for the whole market. The press note talks about encrypted comms channels, and hints at a software solution to coordinate emergency teams in response to live camera information.
It does not expand, and both the private 5G pitch and the smart-city concept turn on how use cases are multiplied and expanded. For now, the Istres project is all about how to connect cameras in the cheapest fashion. But the city clearly has a plan, and more applications will be stacked on its new infrastructure. Ericsson references “AI integration and smart city expansion”, as well as “reducing carbon emissions and decreasing energy consumption”.
A statement said: “The deployment improves coordination and rapid response capabilities through advanced fixed and mobile video surveillance and encrypted communications. The initiative supports Istres’ long-term goals of AI integration and smart city expansion, setting a model for other mid-sized cities. [It]… supports critical communications, bolsters public safety, and enables AI-powered urban solutions.”
The city will use the network to advance its sustainability agenda in the nearby Fos-sur-Mer industrial zone, apparently – as a “model for other mid-sized cities transitioning to digital and low-carbon operations”. François Bernardini, Mayor of Istres, said: “This private 5G initiative is central to Istres’ strategy for resilience, sovereignty, and innovation. It lays the foundation for next-generation public services – more connected, responsive, and tailored.”
Duncan Hawkins, vice president for enterprise 5G in the EMEA region at Ericsson, said: “Istres is emerging as a pioneer of urban resilience and innovation in Europe… [it] has turned to private 5G to deploy a scalable, non-intrusive communications network that supports next-generation public services… [It] is paving the way for the modernization of public services and the financial optimization of municipal operations.”
