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The UK Space Agency has this morning announced that they’ve spread £13m of public funding across 16 new projects under the ARTES (Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems) programme, which covers everything from deploying on-board Wi-Fi on remote Scottish railways to improving the availability of 5G and future 6G mobile networks – typically via satellite-based internet connectivity.
The space sector is said to be one of the UK’s “strongest drivers of growth and opportunity” – employing more than 55,000 people and bringing £18.6 billion into the economy every year (data from 2024). Suffice to say it’s little wonder that the government wants to continue fostering research and development in such a valuable industry.
The sixteen projects themselves represent quite a wide selection. For example, some £428,000 will go toward the Satellites for Digitalisation of Railways (SODOR) project, which aims to fit a ScotRail train on the West Highland Line with satellite kit to provide reliable broadband in one of the UK’s most remote rail corridors.