UK5G Newsletter -
Update from Bob Driver, UK5G Lead

Good afternoon, 

It feels strange not being in and amongst the hustle and bustle of Mobile World Congress this week - both physically and digitally. The GSMA should be congratulated for making the right decision in the light of the increasingly serious coronavirus risk. While certainly not replacing the countless face to face meetings and encounters that would have happened at Barcelona, the sheer quantity of on-line content this week just illustrates how many industry announcements are saved up for late February. Looking forward to MWC 2021!

Here at UK5G HQ, there's been plenty of activity taking place relating to the recent exciting announcements of Government funding into an additional tranche of testbed and trial projects:

5G Create is a new £30 million open call competition, launched last week.

The government is hoping to attract bids from a variety of industries where the UK has a competitive advantage, encouraging dynamic business models and opening up new opportunities and markets. This includes the creative industries but also the rich variety of technology businesses in such sectors as energy, water, health and social care and logistics.

UK5G are working alongside the DCMS to deliver a number of competition briefing events across the UK, taking place on the following dates:

· 09/03 Bristol
· 12/03 Glasgow
· 16/03 Salford
· 31/03 Belfast
· 11/05 London

Registration for all these events are open now. If you are thinking of bidding and need a consortia partner UK5G will be able to help.

DCMS are holding a small consultation workshop next week on 03/03 in London to help determine the final details for 5G Create. You can register for the workshop here. They will subsequently make available all the detailed documentation to support and guide potential bidders. We’ll publish as soon as we have it. 

New Project winners

The new 7 x Rural Connected Communities and 2 x Industrial 5G project winners are listed below. Over the next couple of weeks we'll be engaging with the new project teams, and updates will be shared with you via these fortnightly emails. Once the projects are listed online you can 'follow this project' for further updates.

The 5G Innovation Briefing Magazine will include updates and commentary on the trial activity; the next issue is due to be published around May. If you like more info regarding editorial and/or advertising opportunities, please reach out to Roger Hinkson.

Hopefully you saw the 5G Special which was distributed in The Times newspaper last week - digital (pdf) version can be accessed on our resources section. We continue to provide commentary and support the national media on the creation of future 5G reports - the next special will be distributed via The Guardian and more information will be provided in a future issue of the newsletter. Let us know if you want to participate.

Finally, it is good to see the published results from Ofcom of electromagnetic field (EMF) measurements near 5G mobile base stations <add link>. Emissions in all cases were a tiny fraction of the maximum levels set out by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). Hopefully this will serve to allay some of the 5G fears which have been developing in some areas of the country. 

Recently announced winners of the previous funding competitions

Featured blog: 5GTT - Forward Look to 2020

Sam Holloway, DCMS, joined the 5G Testbeds & Trials Programme in the autumn of 2017 - here he blogs about the progress made and 2020 momentum. 

Featured event: An Advanced Introduction to 5G Technology 

An intensive full-day training on 5G requirements, architecture and applications given by Zahid Ghadialy. This course is ideally designed for people who are familiar with mobile technology, especially 3G and/or 4G technology. While a more detailed technical knowledge would be helpful, it will still have plenty to offer to others who may not be very familiar with the details.

If you are delivering a webinar or event on 5G, please upload onto the UK5G website by submitting details via your UK5G dashboard or email news@uk5g.co.uk

Upcoming Working Group Events

The Creative Industries Working Group are delivering a series of EOI style workshops focused around the potential of 5G on creative sectors. More information can be found on our website here but in summary, the events that have a few more spaces remaining are:

31st March | 5G for Sports - Unlocking The Full Potential

Join UK5G and BT to understand the current status of 5G and explore the wealth of opportunities it offers to the Sporting industry. We will explore the impact on the end to end ecosystem, from the creative opportunities of 5G remote production through to the immersive opportunities in and out of the stadium. Speakers include:

Claire Harvey - Red Bee Media (Moderator)
Alison Hutchins - Lead Product Development Manager, BT Media & Broadcast
Rosenbelle Ganan - Consultant,  Fnatic
Brian Leonard - Head of Engineering – Production & Workflows, IMG Media
Paul Bojarski - CEO, Sceenic

2nd April | 5G for Marketing - Unlocking The Full Potential

Join UK5G and Imagination to understand the current status of 5G and explore the wealth of opportunities it offers to the Marketing and Advertising Industries. 

Rory Byrne - Business Director, Imagination (Moderator)
Alex Connock - Fellow, Said School of Business, Oxford University
Peter Marshall - Portfolio Marketing Manager, Ericsson
Geoffrey Goodwin - Senior Director, Verizon Media
Alistair Thompson - Head of Innovation Lab London, Epic Games
Anton Christodoulou - Group Chief Technology Officer, Imagination

Featured News: Surrey Heath Borough Council announces plans for Camberley to be home to first 5G shopping centre in the UK

Surrey Heath Borough Council (SHBC) and key partners, including globally renowned experts of this ground-breaking technology, will work together to explore and research how new and innovative technology could transform the retail experience and form the blueprint for how the “clicks and mortar” retail sector could operate in the future.  

Get involved in techUK's Delivering Connectivity for All campaign week

Join techUK for their 'Delivering Connectivity for All' campaign week (9 - 13 March) that explores the opportunities to deliver connectivity across the UK. If you'd like to get involved and contribute 5G content to the campaign, please follow the link below or drop Sophie Weston an email.

Have you seen the latest UK5G Magazine?

Issue 2 of the UK5G Special is packed with 5G  insights from Government, Industry and the Testbeds. Take a look here.