Guidance on 5G Testbeds and Trials Programme
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The 5G Testbeds and Trials Programme is the government’s nationally
coordinated programme of investment in 5G. Contents About the
programme Latest news Get involved Current projects Programme
findings Case studies Further information About the programme The
5G Testbeds and Trials Programme (5GTT), part of the Department for
Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), looks to...Request free trial
The 5G Testbeds and Trials Programme is the government’s nationally coordinated programme of investment in 5G. Contents
About the programme The 5G Testbeds and Trials Programme (5GTT), part of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), looks to harness areas where the UK has a competitive advantage – such as in scientific research, engineering talent and our rich variety of technology businesses. The 5G Programme is exploring the benefits and challenges of deploying 5G technologies in line with the following key objectives:
Successes so far: The 5G Programme funded the 5GUK Test Networks, which built and integrated three university testbeds (University of Surrey, King’s College London and the University of Bristol) to provide the UK’s first end-to-end 5G network in early 2018.
The initial portfolio of projects successfully developed
small-scale testbeds and they were used by projects to trial 69
technologies, products, and applications. For example: We’ve already completed 8 projects and have over 30 more projects up and running in 34 counties across 13 regions across the UK, with around 200 project partners. We’ve encouraged industry to take a leading position in global 5G deployment. We saw all four mobile network operators launching 5G networks in the UK during 2019. Across the 5G Programme, we’re exploring 140 5G use cases accelerating 5G adoption in targeted sectors (including agriculture, utilities, automotive, transport and logistics). We’re supporting over 10 new and emerging equipment vendors and testing new access technologies in a range of trials to help broaden and secure the UK’s telecom supply chain in line with the government’s diversification strategy. Despite the impact of coronavirus, the 5G projects have been resilient in their progress and testing, and 15 new projects from the 5G Create competition were awarded £28 million of industry matched funding in late 2020. The video below shows some of the benefits 5G could bring through the programme’s initial portfolio of projects. See also more information on our latest projects. Next Steps: The 5G Programme is supporting the Future Radio Access Network Competition (FRANC). This is part of the government’s response to the challenge of diversifying the UK’s supply market for radio equipment set out in the Diversification Strategy. Up to £30 million of government funding will be available. 5GTT is supporting NeutrORAN, a collaborative research project led by Japanese IT and networking multinational, NEC, with grant funding of £1.6 million. The project will create a neutral host Open RAN testbed in the UK. Open RAN is an open-interface solution that is key to diversifying the UK 5G supply chain. The project has been awarded £1.6 million of grant funding. 5GTT is supporting The SmartRAN Open Network Interoperability Centre (SONIC) with a grant of £1 million. SONIC is a joint programme between Digital Catapult and Ofcom for testing interoperability and integration of open networking solutions, starting with Open RAN. SONIC will be live and operational from May 2021, and will evolve over time to contribute to broader national testbed and laboratory initiatives. The 5G Programme is also supporting the Digital Connectivity Infrastructure Accelerator (DCIA) project in collaboration with the Department for Transport (DfT), which allocated £7 million from the Shared Outcomes Fund to deliver the DCIA project. The project aims to accelerate investment in advanced wireless networks (including 5G) and create efficiencies for network providers and local authorities by exploring the challenges of using new forms of physical location assets (such as street furniture) to support digital infrastructure. The Digital Platform workstream within the DCIA project will support national adoption of digital platform solutions based on technical specifications jointly developed with key stakeholders including mobile telecommunication infrastructure providers and UK regions and their constituent local authorities. In addition, the Standard Contracts workstream within the project will create an online library of contracts for Local Authorities and infrastructure providers related to installation of wireless networking equipment on street furniture assets. In terms of next steps, the 5G Programme will focus on the impacts of the dissemination of knowledge and learning from the funded projects, as the wider 5G ecosystem in the UK continues to develop and demand for 5G technologies grow. Latest news 2 July 2021 New £30 million competition to make UK a pioneer in building 5G networks A £30 million competition to turn the UK into a leading global destination for developing the next generation of 5G networks has been launched. 13 January 2021 £28 million to trial innovative new uses of 5G to improve people’s lives The joint investment from government and businesses will fund nine UK-wide projects that will seize the benefits of 5G and help British industries. 13 July 2020 Funding boost for UK tech innovators to seize opportunities of 5G technology The next wave of government-funded research and development projects aiming to put Britain at the forefront of 5G technology have been announced. 20 February 2020 New £65 million package for 5G trials Winners of £35 million funding pot to help Britain unlock potential of 5G announced, and new £30 million 5G competition for sectors launched as part of government’s continued commitment to level up infrastructure across the UK. Get involved We’re keen to engage with new stakeholders who want to find out more about the 5G Programme and who want to work with government to help build the business case for 5G and actively foster the 5G ecosystem and lead on 5G R&D across the UK. We’re working with the UK5G Innovation Network (UK5G), which was created to boost and strengthen the development of the 5G ecosystem in the UK. The network currently has around 4,000 members from more than 1600 organisations. To stay up to date with the latest news, collaboration activities and developments on 5G across the UK, sign up to the UK5G website If you are a supplier or vendor working on 5G technology, please add your company’s details to the UK5G Supplier’s Directory. For more information on 5G activity in the UK and insight and commentary on the latest developments coming out of the wide variety of active 5G trials, please see the UK5G Innovation Briefings. We’ll be providing further updates on the sectors of the 5G Programme soon. Current projects Complete list of our 5G projects Programme findings Read lessons learnt on the 5G Programme. More information can also be found in the 5G Programme Initial Evaluation Report. Case studies West Midlands Leading the way in 5G Coverage How one 5G project is aiming to deploy cheaper and fast 5G infrastructure in the West Midlands. More case studies can be found in the Case Study Annex (first six projects, 5GUK and UK5G) in the 5G Programme Initial Evaluation Report. Further information 11 October 2019 Overview of 5G related initiatives led or supported by the central and local governments This document provides an overview of the actions that the Central and Local governments are taking to help create the best conditions for the private sector to invest in developing and deploying 5G in the UK in a timely and efficient manner. |