Intelligent CIO Europe Issue 28 | Page 14

NEWS Nokia and ENGIE Solutions to deploy LTE wireless network for Grand Paris Express lines T he Société du Grand Paris (SGP) has selected a consortium comprising Nokia and ENGIE Solutions to deploy an industrial grade LTE private wireless network for new automated lines of the Grand Paris Express metro. The project will cover over 200 km of new lines, 68 new metro stations and all of the metro trains running on Paris metro lines 15, 16 and 17 routes. its transportation network emergency and security needs. The project will provide critical, high-speed wireless connectivity services that will meet all future Grand Paris Express operational and maintenance requirements, as well as Deployment of a private wireless network is part of an innovative approach by the Société du Grand Paris, as it replaces conventional technologies traditionally used in metro transport with LTE – a highly reliable, secure, broadband technology. Nokia will deploy an LTE private mobile radio solution designed for operational communications and indoor/outdoor connectivity across all Grand Paris Express stations, lines and depots. These include voice, data (file transfer and multimedia support) and video services (transmission, on-board video surveillance). The global leader in rail communications network deployments, and pioneering the private wireless space across many verticals, Nokia now has over 130 large enterprise customers using 4.9G/LTE and 5G private wireless networks around the world. The wireless network is a step closer to innovation ////////////////// Europe facing major challenges as Digital Transformation becomes number one skills issue O rganisations across Europe are facing a major skills challenge caused by Digital Transformation, with many struggling to keep pace with learning and development (L&D) needs, according to research from Skillsoft. Carried out in the UK, France and Germany, the research found that reskilling in the face of changing and increasingly digital working environments is the biggest single issue for L&D professionals across all three countries (42% of respondents on average). and the UK at 1%. In each country, most respondents believe their organisations need to do more to keep pace with Digital Transformation. However, only 22% of respondents from across the three countries said their organisations are fully prepared to provide the new skills required by Digital Transformation. The UK sits below this average, with just 14% of organisations saying they have fully prepared employees with new skills, with France only slightly higher than the average, reporting 33% of organisations are fully prepared. France had “It’s clear that across these three major territories, Digital Transformation is severely testing the planning, implementation and spending strategies for L&D professionals. Despite a clear trend of increasing and targeted investment, the industry faces a challenge to keep pace with the changes that Digital Transformation is bringing,” said Steve Wainwright, Managing Director EMEA at Skillsoft. 14 INTELLIGENTCIO Despite the overwhelming response that organisations are not preparing employees for Digital Transformation, only half of the organisations in each country have increased investment in skills to keep pace with Digital Transformation (UK – 56%, France – 54%, Germany – 56%). The research was carried out in the UK, France and Germany the most respondents say they are doing nothing to build Digital Transformation skills (20%), compared to Germany at 3% www.intelligentcio.com