INDUSTRY UNLOCKED
UK to accelerate research on 5G and 6G technology as part of £ 110 million package
Research and development on next-generation 5G and 6G wireless technology and telecoms security is to be ramped up as part of a £ 110 million UK government investment . Three top UK universities have been awarded £ 28 million to develop nextgeneration 6G network technology while a £ 80 million fund has been set up for a stateof-the-art UK Telecoms Lab in the West Midlands for testing network equipment .
Three top UK universities , University of York , University of Bristol and University of Surrey , will receive a share of £ 28 million to team up with major telecoms companies including Nokia , Ericsson and Samsung to design and build networks of the future such as 6G .
The move will bolster the UK ’ s status as a global leader in telecoms research and follows Ericsson and Samsung ’ s recent decision to set up cutting edge 6G research centres in the UK . It will also support the roll-out of lightning-fast 5G by making it easier for more firms to enter the market .
The universities will work with world-leading UK academics and industry players to ensure future network technologies , including 6G , are designed in a way that promotes a more diverse and innovative telecoms market and brings an end to current network set-ups where all equipment within a network must be from a single supplier .
The package includes £ 80 million for a state-ofthe-art UK Telecoms Lab being built in Solihull in the West Midlands under a new contract the government has signed with the National Physical Laboratory . The lab will act as a secure research facility for mobile network operators , suppliers and academics to research and test the security , resilience and performance of their 5G and , in the future , 6G network technology . The facility will also create dozens of specialised jobs in telecoms and cybersecurity for the region . www . intelligentcxo . com
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