Government calls for greater sharing of 5G infrastructure

The government has updated its existing 5G strategy, launched earlier this year as part of the Spring Budget, to include extra details of how the new mobile network will be rolled out in the UK.

The updated document highlights a need to share infrastructure and building costs, suggests new channels for further network pilot schemes and reveals that a consortium has been successful in winning a bid to facilitate the 5G Innovation Network.

The update, which consisted of 23 new pages added to the strategy, was published alongside a “call for views” on how new pilot schemes for how 5G will be deployed.

The document states that the government is initially thinking of conducting two pilots in urban and rural areas. The former is hoped to provide a platform to perform a to-scale test of smart city and internet of things (IoT) applications, including “autonomous vehicles, traffic monitoring, health and care, public safety and security”.

The rural scheme would focus on what IoT could bring to the countryside and its industry, including agriculture and health services.

The government has already handed out a £16 million grant to network pioneers at the University of Bristol, the University of Surrey and King’s College London, where researchers won a tender to develop and build test network for the new mobile technology via the 5G Testbeds and Trials programme. The trial system is due for completion in 2018.

Now the government is considering the next stage of the scheme and has asked stakeholders how it can establish “conditions under which 5G-ready networks can be deployed in a timely way”.

Speaking about the government’s updated strategy, Matt Hancock, the minister for digital, said he hoped the UK could lead the way in 5G development “so that we can take early advantage of the benefits that this new technology offers”.

He added: “The steps we are taking now are all part of our commitment to realising the potential of 5G, and will help to create a world-leading digital economy that works for everyone.”