Innovation & Entrepreneurship

The mobile industry has experienced another significant year in 2024, marked by continued advancements in nationwide connectivity. As we approach the end of the year, we’ve invited industry experts to share their insights and predictions for what 2025 might hold for the mobile industry. Check out these fascinating forecasts below.

Ericsson and Telstra today announced the successful launch of the 5G Advanced Automated Energy Saver (AES), a first-of-its-kind energy management feature in the Southern Hemisphere.

• The Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU) is investing in European 6G R&D projects
• It has just identified 16 projects that, between them, will receive €127m in funding
• The SNS JU has now awarded more than €500m in funding to date

The

Ceredigion County Council is proud to be part of the groundbreaking Rural Connectivity Accelerator (RCA) project, funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

5G DRIVE (Diversified oRAN Integration & Vendor Evaluation) was funded by the Department for Science Innovation & Technology (DSIT) under the Future RAN Competition (FRANC) programme. It developed a low-cost, secure 5G Diversified Open RAN Integration solution for private mobile networks.

Today at UKTIN we’re proud to be celebrating National Engineering Day, an awareness day that aims to make the UK's engineers and engineering more visible, and celebrate how they improve everyday lives and shape the world around us for the better. 

At the end of October, UKTIN invited a select group of investors to a VIP lunch. The aim? To facilitate a frank conversation about the future of connectivity, the perceptions of telecoms among the investor community and the opportunities available in our sector.

Setting a new standard in business networking with unparalleled fiber and 5G convergence in a single device

• Virgin Media O2 has agreed to sell an 8.33% minority stake in the Cornerstone mobile towers JV to Equitix, while retaining a 25.01% holding in Cornerstone overall
• The deal, which will see Virgin Media O2 receive £186m in cash upon completion, is structured through a 16.66% sale in a holding company which indirectly owns 50% of Corne

Rural broadband provider, Quickline Communications, is teaming up with social value specialist, Ahead Partnership, to bring a bespoke innovative, tech-focused engagement programme to 16 secondary schools across the region.

The 5G Innovation Region (5GIR) programme has seen 10 regions throughout the UK receive a share of £36m of funding as part of our wider programme to drive 5G adoption.

The call for speakers has now opened! Don’t miss your opportunity to speak to 500+ major industry players, from technologists and entrepreneurs to academics and investors. We want to hear your stories of resilience, innovation and challenge, welcoming applications from organisations of any size or age.

The GSMA is teaming up with the Mobile Satellite Services Association (MSSA) to work on connecting terrestrial and space-based networks, which they say will create ‘a new era of ubiquitous global connectivity.’

Advanced multi-speed OLT-ONU platform enables operators to run mission-critical AI applications at the edge while providing the most cost-effective and power-efficient upgrade path for current GPON and 10G PON networks

Today,  we announce an important milestone in the continuing development of UK-India Collaborations in Telecoms Research & Innovation by the signing of an important MoU between Bharat  6G Alliance and the UK-India Future Networks Initiative (UKI-FNI), supported by UK Telecoms Innovation Net

THE BEST THING ABOUT UKTIN’S SUCCESS STORIES? 
EVERYBODY BENEFITS
Ian Smith, Head of UKTIN

UKTIN is in the business of networks in more ways than one. We’re tasked with connecting a 

Samsung Electronics teamed up with NTT DOCOMO, Japan’s largest mobile carrier, in August to jointly research the application of AI in next-generation mobile communications technology.

• T-Mobile US, Nvidia, Ericsson and Nokia are jointly investing in an AI-RAN Innovation Centre
• The facility will be based at T-Mobile US’s headquarters campus in Bellevue, Washington
• The partners will develop mobile network systems based on AI functionality, “revolutio

• Dell AI for Telecom program simplifies and accelerates AI deployments for communications service providers
• Dell extends collaboration with NVIDIA to transform telecom network operations with AI solutions, built on the Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA 

• Dell collaborates with Lintasarta and SK Telecom to spee

DySPAN is the premier international conference on spectrum innovation, typically held in the US. Bringing the event to the UK for 2025 is a triumph. The event will take place 12-16th May 2025 in London, with support from DSIT, Ofcom, UK Spectrum Policy Forum and Digital Catapult, alongside international collaborators. 

EkkoSense, a global leader in the provision of AI-powered data centre optimisation software, has worked with Virgin Media O2 to help the company make data centre cooling energy savings worth in exces

PXC to partner with fastest-growing alternative network in bid to become the UK’s go-to alt net aggregator.

The tool is designed to help telco organisations adopt and measure responsible and ethical approaches to AI as the industry looks to access an estimated $680 billion market opportunity 

The UKTIN Strategic Groups bring together academic and industry leaders and experts, governmental and regulatory specialists, and representative bodies to cohesively communicate the needs of the broader ecosystem and propose a shared public and private sector strategic vision for UK telecoms.