Real Wireless welcomes the launch of a £40 million Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) competition for local authorities to apply to drive 5G innovation and the use of other advanced wireless technologies in their areas.
The goal is to accelerate innovation in sectors such as advanced manufacturing, transport, agriculture, and public services, helping to accelerate the local benefits that can be realised in these sectors.
Improved connectivity through 5G and advanced wireless technologies could have a transformative effect on local areas, providing faster, more reliable, and more secure connectivity for businesses, boosting local economies and improving the delivery of public services.
The competition winners will be supported by the government through the DSIT Future Network Programmes team and UKTIN to develop their own digital ecosystems, take advantage of new and emerging technologies and trial new use cases. Regions are required to focus on local strengths and local opportunities for growth. Applications close on 10th September 2023 and winning bidders will be announced later this year.
Real Wireless has been helping city based clusters develop investable value propositions for some time. We have been engaged in a number of Research and Innovation clusters in European Cities like Turin, Rome, Renne; helping to establish the value propositions for use cases and importantly understanding how the use cases can be delivered through shared digital infrastructure using business and economic models like neutral host and operator sharing. We have advised public and private sector clients in places like London, Belfast, Liverpool, Glasgow, Manchester, and Northern Wales on future services and the implications for underpinning future network requirements and delivery options.
Our strategic advice is typically enabled by a combination of our Techno-Economic Analysis and Network Modelling and Simulation Capabilities. We have developed a deep understanding of the frameworks that are required to establish shared risk and benefit investment cases, across the public and private sector, for both the capital investments as well as long term operation of systems. The beneficiaries can be standard public network use cases for the residents and commuters in Cities but also (an importantly for this competition) set in the context of the buildings and their outdoor environs where enterprise and industry are present and more exotic use cases and network requirements can be necessary. We have found our ability to translate the future networks and use cases view into a economic cases such as Green Book consideration has provided additional value to our clients.
Our advice is independent and looks at the holistic implications of connectivity, what it means, the equipment required, the deployment challenges, whether services will be shared across more than one operator and the broader techno-economic impacts.
As part of the government’s Wireless Infrastructure Strategy we believe this 5G Innovation Regions competition is well timed as the focus on 5G moves to benefits identification and realisation in various verticals. We are very familiar with working in consortia and available to advise Towns, Cities and Regions on their approaches to the project, and look forward to this investment by the Government catalysing adoption of new services.
Read more: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/40-million-fund-launched-to-unlock-5g-benefits-across-the-uk
