- A joint initiative between the EC and European industry.
- In its third wave of projects after launching in June 2018.
- Telefónica present via its R&D entity Telefónica I&D.
- Deutsche Telekom also involved in several projects via Group and Greek subsidiary; BT present in UK‑focused projects.
The EU’s 5G Infrastructure Public Private Partnership (5G PPP) programme launched in 2017 as a joint venture between the European Commission and industry. It focuses on bigger-ticket projects, largely undertaken by established technology players with at least one operator included in each consortium. It is currently in its third wave of projects. When looking at 5G PPP projects with a UK footing — i.e., those with UK‑based partners or solutions that are trialled in the UK — telco involvement is much more prevalent than in UK government‑funded projects:
- BT is, unsurprisingly, only present in projects with a UK footing.
- Deutsche Telekom is involved in several projects on a Group‑level, and via its Greek subsidiary OTE.
- Telefónica is represented by its R&D entity Telefónica I&D in projects across the bloc.
| Project | Focus and footprint | Telco participation | UK and key participants | Funding ** |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Notes: * This charts 5G PPP Phase 2 projects with a footing in the UK, though there are others operating without a UK‑based participant. ** Figure listed is that received from the European Commission (EC). Most are funded solely by the EC. Sources: EC; projects. |
||||
|
5GCITY June 2017–March 2020 |
Distributed cloud and radio platform for infrastructure owners acting as 5G neutral hosts. Spain, with the UK and others in support. |
WIND Tre |
Accelleran Bristol is Open NEC University of Bristol |
€6m |
|
5G ESSENCE June 2017–November 2019 |
Delivering a small‑cell as‑a‑service platform to support 5G and edge cloud uptake. Greece, with the UK and others in support. |
OTE Group WIND Tre |
Bapco LBG Capritech UK Intel R&D Ireland NEC |
€8m |
|
5G‑MoNArch July 2017–June 2019 |
Integrated 5G mobile network architecture for industrial, media, and smart city use‑cases. Germany, with France, Spain, and UK in support. (Deutsche Telekomwatch, #66, #74, #78, and #85). |
Deutsche Telekom Telecom Italia |
Huawei Nokia Bell Labs Nokia Solutions & Networks Real Wireless Samsung Electronics |
€7.7m |
|
5G‑PICTURE June 2017–May 2020 |
Three use‑cases (live events, railway, and smart city) for remote video production. Spain and UK, others in support. |
Cosmote Telecom Italia |
ADVA Blu Wireless Huawei IHP University of Bristol Zeetta Networks |
€8m |
|
5G‑Transformer June 2017–November 2019 |
Software‑defined and network function virtualisation leveraged for a mobile transport and computing platform. Italy and Spain, with UK and others in support. (Telefónicawatch, #118). |
Orange Telefónica |
Ericsson InterDigital NEC Nokia |
€8m |
|
5G‑XCast June 2017–July 2019 |
Large‑scale, immersive media delivery over 5G networks. Spain, with Finland, the UK, and others in support. (BTwatch, #287 and #294). |
BT Telecom Italia |
BBC Nokia Solutions & Networks Samsung Electronics University of Surrey |
€8m |
|
Metro‑Haul June 2017–September 2019 |
Energy‑efficient, cost‑effective, agile metro networks scalable for 5G access and future network needs. UK, with Italy, Spain, others in support. (Telefónicawatch, #138). |
BT Telecom Italia Telefónica |
ADVA Ericsson Lexden Technologies Old Dog Consulting OpenLightComm University of Bristol Zeetta Networks |
€7.8m |
|
NGPaaS June 2017–August 2019 |
Building a 5G platform‑as-a‑service offering to “telco‑grade” quality. France, with UK and others in support. (BTwatch, #289). |
BT Orange |
Nokia Bell Labs Nokia Israel ONAPP |
€5.2m |
|
June 2017–February 2020 |
Building a plug‑and‑play satcom solution for 5G to accelerate deployment. Germany and UK, with others in support. (BTwatch, #312). |
BT |
Airbus Avanti Communications Quortus Thales University of Surrey |
€8.3m |
|
Total: €67m |
||||
| Project | Focus and footprint | Telco participation | UK and key participants | Funding ** |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Notes: * This charts 5G PPP projects with a footing in the UK, though there are others operating without a UK‑based participant. ** Figure listed is that received from the EC. Most are funded solely by the EC. Sources: EC; projects. |
||||
|
5G‑CLARITY November 2019–July 2022 |
Developing 5G architecture for private networks. Spain and UK. |
Telefónica I&D |
Accelleran Gigasys Solutions Interdigital Ericsson pureLiFi University of Edinburgh University of Bristol |
€5.7m |
|
5G‑COMPLETE November 2019–April 2022 |
Developing 5G architecture to combine compute and storage resource functionality over a fibre wireless RAN. France, Greece, and UK. |
Cosmote Orange |
Accelleran ADVA Siklu Communications University of Bristol |
€6m |
|
5G‑DRIVE September 2018–February 2021 |
Collaborative vehicle‑to‑everything R&D efforts between China and the EU. Finland, Italy, and UK. |
Orange Poland OTE Group |
University of Kent University of Surrey |
€6m |
|
5G!Drones June 2019–May 2022 |
Trials on 5G‑enabled drones to prove the value of network slicing for unmanned flight. France, Greece, and Norway. |
Cosmote Orange Poland |
Airbus Nokia Unmanned Systems |
€12.9m |
|
5Genesis July 2018–December 2021 |
Aims to validate 5G key performance indicators in various use‑cases through controlled set‑ups and large‑scale events via the provision of an end‑to‑end 5G facility. Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Spain, and UK. (Telefónicawatch, #133). |
Cosmote Telefónica I&D |
Ericsson Fon Technology Intel Deutschland Maran UK University of Surrey |
€15.8m |
|
5G‑HEART June 2019–May 2022 |
5G for healthcare, transportation and food verticals via autonomous vehicles and remote vehicle data services. Greece, Ireland, Norway, and UK. |
OTE Group Telenor |
Epitomical Ericsson Oxfordshire County Council University of Surrey |
€14.3m |
|
5G‑SMART June 2019–June 2022 |
Demonstrating 5G use‑cases in manufacturing with digital twins, robotics, and remote machine operation. Germany and Sweden. |
Orange T‑Systems Hungary |
Ericsson U‑Blox Melbourn |
€10.2m |
|
5G‑VICTORI June 2019–May 2022 |
Large‑scale tests for advanced use‑cases in energy, media, and transport. Germany, Greece, and UK. |
Cosmote Orange Orange Romania |
Digital Catapult Mativision University of Bristol Urban Hawk Zeetta Networks |
€13.5m |
|
5G-VINNI July 2018–June 2021 |
A network of 5G testing facilities. BT’s Adastral Park is one of six Main Facilities where 5G trials are taking place for remote and “agile” media production. (BTwatch, #315; Telefónicawatch, #128). |
BT/EE Telefónica I&D Telenor |
Cisco Ericsson Huawei Lime Microsystems National Express Nokia Samsung Electronics Vortex IoT |
€20m |
|
Full5G September 2019–September 2021 |
To assess the achievement of 5G PPP in its ability to promote 5G uptake across several verticals in the EU. France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, and UK. |
Cosmote Telefónica I&D |
Atos Spain Ericsson Fon Technology Intel Deutschland Maran UK University of Surrey |
€2m |
|
Total: €106.4m |
||||
Last updated November 2020.
Joseph Purnell is a Staff Reporter for TelcoTitans, contributing telecoms news analysis since 2019 as part of the TelcoTitans and Market Mettle Editorial team.Topics
- 5G
- 5G Innovation Centre (University of Surrey)
- 5G projects
- ADVA
- Atos
- Blu Wireless
- British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
- BT Group
- Deutsche Telekom Group (DTAG)
- Ericsson
- European Union (EU, EC, EP)
- Huawei
- Innovation (R&D)
- Intel
- NEC
- Network & Infrastructure
- Nokia
- Orange
- OTE/Cosmote
- Partnerships & Alliances
- Samsung
- Telefónica I+D
- Telefónica UK (O2 UK)
- Three UK
- TIM (Telecom Italia)
- United Kingdom (UK)
- University of Bristol
- Vodafone UK
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