Audience thinks it’s being shown Antwerp
Orange Belgium (OB) is seducing subscribers with an Augmented City app for discovering the beauty of 5G while they wander around the historic port of Antwerp, one of Europe’s oldest and largest transport/telecoms metaphors. As a vibrant exciting and sometimes edgy city, it has a million stories to tell, making it the perfect canvass on which to paint a picture of 5G.
Tall ships
The pride of Flanders is about to host another major attraction as global seafaring competition The Tall Ships Races 2022 will be stopping in Antwerp. From July 22 – 25 during the city will welcome a massive influx of visitors at a variety of points interest, ranging from the ecology centre at Ecopolis, through the rejuvenated dockland area Het Eilandje (an example of reinvention) to the heritage of the MAS Museum (The MAS), which explains Belgium’s rich cultural heritage through artefacts, displays and physical displays.
Clever strategy
Orange Belgium said it is taking this opportunity to bring augmented reality to a wider audience, while augmenting the reality of Belgium’s history and the next generation networking technology being used to bring it alive. From the Grote Markt to the Museum aan de Stroom (MAS), Orange Belgium will pilot visitors through a 3.2-kilometer interactive city tour of Antwerp with Augmented City. During their visits, users will discover historic landmarks in Antwerp, with additional information on their smartphone, served on a network slice courtesy of augmented reality.
Interact
The app, developed by the French and German creative studios 9b+ and Syntop, offers a route that is off the beaten track with many ‘secret places’ and hidden gems, says a release. The experience was developed based on pre-recorded panoramic views of Antwerp. Initially designed to introduce the speed and high-quality data of 5G, the app is also compatible with every smartphone, on Android and iOS, regardless of their network requirements or operator. The experience will be available as of tomorrow for free, in Dutch and French, via Apple Store and Google Play.
Different Antwerp
“Our studios specialise in interactive experiences for cultural, architectural and historical initiatives and we have been developing this app for Antwerp for almost a year,” said Grégoire Chailleux, General Manager of 9b+, “our goal was to allow people to discover a great historical city like Antwerp in a different way.” Meanwhile, Orange Belgium will also be on the other side of a Port of Antwerp-Bruges, on Napoleonkaai, with its Orange 5G Demo Trailer. Over the summer, the trailer will go from city to city along the Belgian coast to demonstrate the possibilities of 5G via different events and activities. Inside the Orange 5G Demo Trailer, visitors will have the opportunity to learn more about Orange Belgium 5G speed and performances.
Coverage
Using the coverage map of Belgium, anyone can interactively track in which places Orange Belgium is currently offering network coverage for the 5G data network. Christophe Dujardin, Chief Customer Officer at Orange Belgium, is ecstatic about the 5G acceleration these applications achieve. “There’s no better way to walk the talk than launching this Augmented City application and provide transparent info during various 5G demonstrations throughout the country” said Dujardin.
Tourism
“We want visitors to fully experience Antwerp and that is why we value this cooperation a lot,” said Koen Kennis, vice mayor at the City of Antwerp and responsible for tourism, “Orange Belgium has prepared a wonderful programme.”