INDUSTRY UNLOCKED
THE FUNDING WILL ALSO TURBOCHARGE OUR WORK TO STRENGTHEN TELECOMS SUPPLY CHAINS SO WE ARE NO LONGER RELIANT ON A HANDFUL OF COMPANIES TO DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN OUR 5G NETWORKS .
A new research and development partnership with the Republic of Korea has also kicked off , which aims to accelerate the deployment of Open RAN and associated technologies .
The joint project , which will receive more than
£ 3 million ( including £ 1.2 million from the UK Government ), will focus on the power efficiency of emerging technical equipment – one of the main obstacles holding back the roll-out of this new technology .
Open RAN enables operators to ‘ mix and match ’ equipment from several suppliers within a network and is crucial to the government ’ s £ 250 million strategy to end the UK ’ s reliance on a small number of firms to build and maintain 5G networks . It will help the country to build a more diverse , competitive and secure telecoms supply chain .
Digital Secretary , Michelle Donelan , said :” The technology powering our phone and Internet networks is evolving rapidly and with 6G on the horizon we must stay ahead of the curve .
“ This government investment will see top UK universities join forces with industry to develop the nuts and bolts underpinning new networks , create skilled jobs testing the security of the latest telecoms tech and ensure our plan for a more diverse and innovative 5G market is sustained in the future .
“ The funding will also turbocharge our work to strengthen telecoms supply chains so we are no longer reliant on a handful of companies to develop and maintain our 5G networks .”
Andy Street , Mayor of the West Midlands , said : “ Tech is one of the most exciting and fastest growing sectors in our region so it ’ s great news
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