- 5G set to be leverages to improve the connectivity in rural, underserved areas across the UK.
- Rural nature sees telco participation lacking; regional operators pick up the slack.
- Startups and SMEs in the picture.
Funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport’s (DCMS) £200m tranche for 5G innovation, the Rural Connected Communities call targets 5G use‑cases in rural, underserved regions across the UK. The regional nature of the projects favours smaller providers and local operators, though Telefónica UK (O2 UK) and Vodafone are present.
It continues on the foundation laid during the 2018 5G Testbeds and Trials programme, and was followed by calls for Industrial 5G projects and 5G innovations across a number of verticals in the 5G Create programme.
| 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 the private sector. Sources: TelcoTitans; UK government. |
||||
|
5G Connected Forest March 2020–March 2022 |
Environmental care and preservation through AR/VR and live data monitoring. |
– |
Birmingham City University Center Parcs UK Gooii Harworth Group ISPB Netmore IOT Solutions Nottingham Trent University Nottinghamshire County Council Parkwood Outdoors Stagecoach East Midlands |
£5m |
|
5G New Thinking March 2020–March 2022 |
Exploring 5G uses on shared and local spectrum, developing a toolkit for local enterprise and councils for rural rollout. Expands on 5G RuralFirst project. |
– |
BBC R&D CloudNet IT Solutions Cisco Faroese Telecom Federated Wireless Pure Leapfrog S5GC University of Strathclyde |
£5m |
|
5G RuralDorset March 2020–March 2022 |
5G applications in agriculture, coastal rescue services, and tourism, while developing the Dorset Innovation Park research hub (Vodafonewatch, #185). |
Vodafone |
Bournemouth University Catapult Dorset Council Excelerate Technology Hugslock Kimcell Neutral Networks New Generation Internet Services Satellite Applications Telint University of Strathclyde Wessex Internet |
£4.3m |
|
Connected Communities in the Rural Economy (CoCoRE) March 2020–March 2022 |
Enabling innovation in agriculture and tourism to boost rural economies, by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, and IoT. |
– |
AppyWay Bristol University Cardiff City Deal Cardiff University Cisco Innovation Point Monmouthshire County Council Utterberry |
£5m |
|
Mobile Access North Yorkshire (MANY) March 2020–March 2022 |
Rural connectivity through a tailored app, technologies, and services. Expands on the 5GRIT project (BTwatch, #295). |
– |
Aql Cybermoor Flo‑culture Lancaster University North Yorkshire County Council Quickline Communications Safenetics University of York Wireless Coverage |
£4.4m |
|
MONeH (Multi Operator Neutral Host) March 2020–March 2022 |
Multi‑operator, neutral host cellular networks, underpinned by small cells. |
– |
Associated Networks CH4LKE Mobile Telet Research |
£2.4m |
|
West Mercia Rural 5G March 2020–March 2022 |
Social and health care applications. |
Three UK |
Airband Herefordshire and Worcestershire Sustainability & Transformation Partnership Shropshire Council University of Chester University of Worcester West Midlands Academic Health Science Network Worcestershire County Council |
£3.3m |
|
|
|
|
|
Total: £30m |
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.UK 5G innovation: projects, testbeds and trials
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