Universities and telecom companies have been invited to apply for around 25 million pounds to research and develop the next generation of 5G and 6G network equipment as a part of the new plans from the UK government to unleash innovation in the industry.
The Future Open Networks Research Challenge will also enable academics and the industry to conduct early-stage research into interoperable and open telecom solutions such as Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN), for use in 5G and 6G.
The government of the United Kingdom is accelerating the development of this technology, which will allow operators to mix and match equipment rather than relying on a single supplier when maintaining or building networks as a part of its 250 million pound Open Networks Research & Development Fund.
The government of the United Kingdom is aiming to build more resilient and secure broadband and mobile infrastructure by boosting competition and innovation within the telecoms supply chain in the country.
This plan comes as 10 million pounds has been awarded to launch the UK Telecoms Innovation Network (UKTIN), which is a new body dedicated for boosting creativity in the telecoms supply chain of the United Kingdom.
The government of the United Kingdom will also invest 1.6 billion pounds in a jointly-funded 3.6 million pounds competition with South Korea to partner on a research and development project to accelerate the development of Open RAN technology.
