About the UKTIN Expert Working Groups

The UK Telecoms Innovation Network (UKTIN) provides an impartial, accessible and inclusive forum for the UK telecoms innovation ecosystem, convening a range of bodies and organisations across industry, government stakeholders, and academia into one network where they can interact in a neutral environment and on a level playing field.  

The UKTIN Expert Working Groups bring together academic and industry leaders and experts, governmental and regulatory specialists, and representative bodies to explore the opportunities, gaps and challenges in the UK telecoms ecosystem. Bringing to bear their collective expertise, the groups aim to identify where the UK can lead and how the UK ecosystem as a whole can benefit from various opportunities. 

Specifically, the groups have been established to:

  • Inform a better-shared understanding of key technical issues through knowledge sharing, leading to increased use of testbeds and other facilities across the ecosystem;
  • Drive increased confidence in the security and resilience of the UK telecoms infrastructure and supply chain development by connecting with a broad supplier base, aiming to remove dependency on high-risk vendors;
  • Consider measures that will accelerate the development and deployment of interoperable and open interface solutions, as well as catalysing the telecoms diversification strategy.

The Expert Working Groups are focused on specific technology areas, aligned to current telecoms research, development and innovation priorities and opportunities:

Our Groups
  • Security
    Security

    Aligned with established methods and best practices in ensuring system security and its maintenance, the Security group explores new innovation opportunities for UK industry enabled by knowledge, novel algorithms, and tools and mitigations delivered by R&D projects.

    Learn more

    Read The Security Future Capability Paper

  • Wireless Networking Technologies
    Wireless Networking Technologies

    Aligned with established technology and market trends in wireless mobile systems, the Wireless Networking group builds on the UK’s already formidable strengths in this domain and identifies important emerging challenges and opportunities for further building UK capability.

    Learn more

    Read The Wireless Networking Technologies Future Capability Paper

  • Network Management
    Network Management

    Across the telecoms landscape, the Network Management group explores themes around decentralisation, mobile networks, private networks, business models and web 3.0.

    Learn more

    Read The Network Management Future Capability Paper

  • Core Networking Technologies
    Core Networking Technologies

    Aligned with established technology and market trends, in particular softwarisation and cloudification, the Core Networking Technologies group identifies emerging challenges and opportunities for further building UK capability.

    Learn more

    Read The Core Networking Technologies Future Capability Paper

  • Optical Communications
    Optical Communications

    The Optical Communications and Photonics group explores the ways in which all-optical infrastructure will drive increased performance capability across the telecoms landscape.

    Learn more

    Read The Optical Communications Future Capabilities Paper

  • Artificial Intelligence
    Artificial Intelligence

    Across the networking landscape, the Artificial Intelligence group explores themes and the potential of algorithms and machine learning, hardware and devices, enhancing data security and cyber-physical systems.

    Learn more

    Read The Artificial Intelligence Future Capability Paper

  • Semiconductors
    Semiconductors

    The Semiconductors group focuses on the interplay between silicon and compound semiconductors, assessing where UK industry has a competitive advantage to address the demands of future telecom networks.

    Learn more

    Read The Semiconductors Future Capability Paper

  • Non-Terrestrial Networking
    Non-Terrestrial Networking

    The UK Telecoms Innovation Network (UKTIN) Non-Terrestrial Networking Expert Working Group focuses on a broad range of non-terrestrial network architectures and applications.

    Learn more

    Read The Non-Terrestrial Future Capability Paper

  • Security
    Security

    Aligned with established methods and best practices in ensuring system security and its maintenance, the Security group explores new innovation opportunities for UK industry enabled by knowledge, novel algorithms, and tools and mitigations delivered by R&D projects.

    Learn more

    Read The Security Future Capability Paper

  • Wireless Networking Technologies
    Wireless Networking Technologies

    Aligned with established technology and market trends in wireless mobile systems, the Wireless Networking group builds on the UK’s already formidable strengths in this domain and identifies important emerging challenges and opportunities for further building UK capability.

    Learn more

    Read The Wireless Networking Technologies Future Capability Paper

  • Network Management
    Network Management

    Across the telecoms landscape, the Network Management group explores themes around decentralisation, mobile networks, private networks, business models and web 3.0.

    Learn more

    Read The Network Management Future Capability Paper

  • Core Networking Technologies
    Core Networking Technologies

    Aligned with established technology and market trends, in particular softwarisation and cloudification, the Core Networking Technologies group identifies emerging challenges and opportunities for further building UK capability.

    Learn more

    Read The Core Networking Technologies Future Capability Paper

  • Optical Communications
    Optical Communications

    The Optical Communications and Photonics group explores the ways in which all-optical infrastructure will drive increased performance capability across the telecoms landscape.

    Learn more

    Read The Optical Communications Future Capabilities Paper

  • Artificial Intelligence
    Artificial Intelligence

    Across the networking landscape, the Artificial Intelligence group explores themes and the potential of algorithms and machine learning, hardware and devices, enhancing data security and cyber-physical systems.

    Learn more

    Read The Artificial Intelligence Future Capability Paper

  • Semiconductors
    Semiconductors

    The Semiconductors group focuses on the interplay between silicon and compound semiconductors, assessing where UK industry has a competitive advantage to address the demands of future telecom networks.

    Learn more

    Read The Semiconductors Future Capability Paper

  • Non-Terrestrial Networking
    Non-Terrestrial Networking

    The UK Telecoms Innovation Network (UKTIN) Non-Terrestrial Networking Expert Working Group focuses on a broad range of non-terrestrial network architectures and applications.

    Learn more

    Read The Non-Terrestrial Future Capability Paper

In addition to their technology specialism, each group will also consider cross-cutting themes such as sustainability and Net Zero; architecture; equality, diversity and inclusion; security; future capability; diversification and standards. There will, by design, be overlap between the topics each group will consider, and cross-group interaction will be encouraged to synthesise perspectives and encourage collaborative working. This will ensure consistencies but also strong recommendations that can be fed through to the strategic groups.

Outcomes from the groups are fed into UKTIN’s Strategic Groups: the Cross-Government Telecoms Strategic Coordination Group, the Telecoms R&D Future Capability Strategic Leadership Forum, the Academic Future Networks Strategy Group and the Telecoms Industry Diversification Coordination Group. 

You can learn more about the work currently being undertaken by each of the Expert Working Groups in the Explore Technologies & Trends section of our site.

Interested in contributing to a group and want to know more, click here.