By Nick Flaherty
The UK is to back 6G research in the UK with an additional £60m as it responds to a recent report on the telecoms supply chain.
“We will back growth in this sector,” said Chris Bryant, UK minister for telecoms Chris Bryant. “Advanced connectivity will be one of the growth markets in our Industrial Strategy within the digital and technology sector. “We will invest nearly £60 million(US$77.63 million) over the next year, 2025 to 2026, to support UK leadership in R&D so that more of the technology providing the world’s critical connectivity is developed here in the UK.”
“We build on research from some of the best universities in the world, and the JOINER research and innovation platform gives them a unique test network to prepare for 6G. British firms are getting connectivity to places it hasn’t gone before, like trains, offshore wind farms and space,” he said.
This comes as the government published its response to the report from the Telecoms Supply Chain Diversification Advisory Council.
“We do not see any trade-off here between security and growth. They are mutually reinforcing,” said Bryant. “With a strong research base in telecoms that ranks as the third in the world and a range of existing and emerging suppliers of advanced connectivity solutions already based here, we believe the UK can be a leading place for the development of these technologies.”
“Our ambition over the next 10 years is to be a home for more of these companies – from growing university spin-outs and scaling start-ups to global firms undertaking their technology development in the UK. That will give us a more resilient and competitive supply chain in our mobile networks; help us build sovereign capabilities in tech that is used by our defence forces, emergency services and so critical for our security; and it will stimulate growth, productivity and high-quality jobs.”
The review was prompted by the continued risks of equipment from Huawei, increasing cybersecurity risks and consolidation in the market with fewer suppliers.
The UK is now on a path towards complete removal of Huawei from the UK’s 5G networks by the end of 2027, originally intended for 2023, which will improve security and resilience, says the report. The government continues to work with telecoms operators as this is implemented and is committed to continually reviewing the legislative framework to keep pace with security threats.
The report recommends further investment in government-funded testing facilities, to ensure the technology in networks is secure and resilient and drives innovation. This includes the UK Telecoms Lab (UKTL), which undertakes testing and research to assure the security and resilience of technology deployed in our networks now and in the future.
By complementing security testing the mobile operators undertake, this lab will help give confidence to operators to deploy innovative technology, while also supporting efforts to address skills gaps in telecoms cyber security and increase the UK’s influence in technical standards setting relevant to security.
The separate SONIC Labs (SmartRAN Open Network Interoperability Centre) will continue to offer a vendor neutral, interoperability testing lab space to support smaller and emerging vendors in the advanced connectivity sector, to develop and demonstrate the deployment-readiness of their open network solutions.
AI enables telecoms research toolkit
The government says it will also work global vendors to support their critical role in supplying the UK and growing the ecosystem.
The report points to the £250 million Open Networks Programme, launched in 2020 as the government’s R&D programme to support open and interoperable technologies.
The programme saw a total investment of £262 million pledged, with £103 million of private funding over 148 Project Partners involved directly in the programme operating in over 40 locations across the UK. ‘Select’ projects will be chosen to continue, says Bryant.
