Belgian cable operator Telenet has inked a five-year Internet of Things (IoT) contract with the Brussels South Charleroi Airport. The aim of the deal is to turn the airport into a true ‘digital dome’ and so better run it while improving passenger experience at the same time. The focus will start at home and go to the boarding gate, with the help of smart parking, a stronger Wi-Fi network, and the analysis of visitor location data. The airport has some 25,000 passengers visit the airport every day.

Telenet will help the airport become a smart one, setting up a new ecosystem to develop IoT services and enrich the CRL Airport app launched last June.

Passenger flow analysis, smart parking

The partnership will initially focus on two concrete points: passenger flow analysis and connected smart parking.

For the first point, the airport and Telenet will develop a passenger and visitor flow mapping and analysis system. To help achieve this, Telenet will improve and increase the density of the airport’s Wi-Fi network and sothen provide location data for visitors. This will help the airport offer personalised services for visitors. The first set of data should be ready sometime next year.

For the second point, the parties will develop smart parking systems that will make it possible for visitors to reserve and pay for space online using the application. Smart cameras will automatically recognise the registration plate at the car park entrance, while sensors connected by Telenet’s NB-IoT network will indicate free spaces. A first set of 500 spaces should be made available with the system from next summer.

More smart services

After these points are taken care of, the airport and Telenet will further enrich the app and make the Charleroi a hub for IoT services on a regional scale. Telenet chose Microsoft’s platform in June to develop IoT services; it will now put that platform to work for the airport.