UK 5G innovation: projects, testbeds and trials

Inaugural DCMS 5G funding established testbeds across the UK: hubs for future 5G‑enabled innovation.
£200m funding pledged by 2022.

5G Testbeds and Trials

Source: DCMS

The UK government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) funded an initial 5G Testbeds and Trials programme in 2018, under which innovation hubs were established. Given the regional nature of these testbeds, mobile network operator (MNO) engagement appears low, with local challenger operators picking up the slack. The £200m funding, running to 2022, has so far been granted across three further calls beyond the foundational Testbeds and Trials:

Rural Connected Communities, which targets geographic areas underserved by MNOs and so, by default, aligns with smaller local operators.
Industrial 5G, which aims to demonstrate use‑cases around automation, logistics, and manufacturing.
5G Create, a call for use‑cases across a number of verticals.

5G Testbeds and Trials
Project	Focus	Telco participation	Key participants (lead in bold)	Funding *
Note: * Figure listed is that received from the DCMS, but projects may have received additional funding from partners, local government, and private sector. Sources: TelcoTitans; UK government.
5G RuralFirst March 2018–September 2019	Rural 5G testing programme using spectrum sharing. Multiple offshoots.	–	5G Innovation Centre (University of Surrey — 5GIC) Agri‑Epi Centre Broadway Partners *Cisco Systems* Harper‑Adams University Milkalyser Parallel Wireless Precision Decisions University of Strathclyde Zeetta Networks	£5.5m
5G Rural Integrated Testbed (5GRIT) March 2018–September 2019	Large‑scale 5G rural testbed with a variety of use‑cases, including agritech, drones, and tourism.	–	Blue Bear Broadway Partners Cybermoor Kingston University London Lancaster University Precision Decisions *Quickline Communications*	£3.3m
5G Smart Tourism March 2018–September 2019	Enhanced tourist experiences through augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) and 360‑degree content streaming.	–	Aardman BBC Bristol Future Global Digital Catapult University of Bristol *West of England Combined Authority* Zeetta Networks	£5.2m
AutoAir March 2018–March 2020	Hyper‑dense neutral host networks for small cells on the road‑ or track‑side. Creation of a connected autonomous vehicle (CAV) test centre and Millbrook Proving Ground (Telefónicawatch, #135).	O2 UK	Airspan Communications Arm McLaren Applied Technologies Millbrook Proving Ground Quortus	£5.2m
Liverpool 5G Testbed March 2018–December 2019	Creation of a 5G test centre in Liverpool to promote health and social care.	–	Blu Wireless Broadway Partners Docobo Liverpool John Moores University National Health Service and social care organisations *Sensor City* University of Liverpool	£3.7m
Worcestershire 5G Consortium March 2018 — March 2020	5G testbed in the West Midlands (BTwatch, #295 and #315, and Telefónicawatch, #136).	BT O2 UK	5GIC AWTG QinetiQ Worcester Bosch Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership Yamazaki Mazak	£7.2m
				Total: £30m

Last updated November 2020.

Joseph PurnellJoseph Purnell is a Staff Reporter for TelcoTitans, contributing telecoms news analysis since 2019 as part of the TelcoTitans and Market Mettle Editorial team.