The UK welcomes the opportunity for collaborative research and development activities related to Open RAN and diversification of telecoms infrastructure.
Guidance on collaboration opportunities can be sourced from the UK’s Department for International Trade with David Rayner being the current point of contact for enquiries related to telecoms research and development.
A September 2022 briefing session led by the UK’s Department for International Trade outlined opportunities for collaborative research and development with the UK in wireless telecommunications infrastructure:
For potential European partners, UK organisations remain eligible for the next Horizon Europe Smart Networks and Services programme and related calls. The UK National contact point for Horizon Europe Digital calls is Craig Sharp.
The UK has already undertaken a number of international diversification R&D partnerships:
South Korea
The UK government is investing in joint research and development projects with the Republic of Korea to accelerate the deployment of Open RAN and associated technologies. The joint endeavour, which will receive more than £3 million (including £1.2 million from the UK Government), will focus on the power efficiency of emerging technical equipment - one of the main obstacles holding back the roll out of this new technology.
The UK-led project will work closely with the Republic of Korea project to jointly analyse results and seek to identify how to tackle efficiency challenges.
This builds on previous joint projects between the UK and Republic of Korea such as the 5G RailNext project bringing uninterrupted ‘infotainment’ services across the Seoul Metro system.
Japan
The UK and Japan have committed to collaborating on digital and data. It is planned that a UK-Japan Digital Group will convene to deepen digital cooperation between the UK and Japan.
This will cover joint digital priorities, including digital infrastructure, data, digital regulation and standards as well as digital transformation.
In January 2023, the Japanese State Minister and colleagues from the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications visited the SONIC Labs facilities at Ofcom.
India
Two R&D projects between the UK and India have been announced:
- The UK-India Future Networks Initiative (UKI-FNI) - a £1.4 million project led by the University of East Anglia in collaboration with other UK and Indian universities. The project will build the capability, capacity, and relationships between the two countries in telecoms diversification technologies and research for 5G and beyond.
- Funding for the Compound Semiconductor Applications (CSA) Catapult - a £180,000 grant to explore opportunities for further UK-India collaboration on the needs of future telecoms networks.