Government’s 5G ‘Testbeds and Trials’ Competition Opens

The Government have today launched a nationwide competition for 5G testbeds and trials as part of its support for 5G deployment.

The £25 million competition forms part of the Government’s Full Fibre and 5G programmes. This is the second major announcement from the 5G stream, building on the 5G Hub which aims to develop a test-network with three universities. The £25 million competition aims to explore the “potential for 5G to deliver benefits for businesses; developing new 5G applications and services; developing and exploring new business models around key 5G technologies; or reducing the commercial risks associated with investment in 5G.”

The Government expects bids to be industry-led, with organisations or groups having until mid-December to apply for up £5 million in funding for each bid. The Government has put some significant money into its Full Fibre and 5G programmes with up to £540 million available for the latter. More details on future funding will likely be made available towards the end of this year or early next as the programme matures.

The BSG are committed to following up on our Lowering Barriers work on fixed to look ahead at the potential pinch points in the deployment of small cells and 5G networks. We’ll be sharing more information on this in the coming weeks.

DCMS and the KTN are running a series of workshop on the 5G prospectus over the next couple of weeks. More information is available here.