The UK Government’s Science and Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle, has today outlined a raft of new investments, reforms and appointments aimed at “supercharging innovation and helping to grow the economy“, which among other things includes an investment of £23m into “cutting edge telecoms research and deployment“.
The Secretary of State today declared to techUK’s conference that there is “no route to long-term growth and no solution to our productivity problem, without innovation“, before confirming that the Government would deliver the “first ever dedicated plan for the digital and technologies sector with transparent, adaptable, pro-innovation regulation as a central pillar“.
Under the Government’s new plans, “red tape that is no longer fit for the opportunities of the 21st century will be peeled away“, so that new technologies can be brought to market quickly and safely. But it’s currently unclear how much of this will extend to the telecoms side of things.
The announcement also mentioned an investment of £23 million in telecoms R&D that, we’re told, will “deliver breakthroughs in getting coverage to places that can’t currently receive signals, and support projects delivering real, tangible change for people and businesses across Britain” – with smart sensors to prevent damp and mould in social housing in Glasgow, or using 5G mobile to help farmers in Sussex monitor vineyards and maximise their yields.
The Science and Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle, said:
“Everywhere you see, there is an imbalance of power in this country which has – for too long – made it impossible to imagine a better future for Britain.
To deliver our Plan for Change we have to shift the balance of power, away from stagnation and old ideas, towards innovation and opportunity, and the bold people building a new future for Britain.
In doing so, by 2035 we could see a whole new Britain emerge, harnessing the power of technological development, from engineering biology to AI, semiconductors and cyber security, or quantum and future telecoms for a stronger economy and better lives for all in the UK.”
As we understand it, around £7m from that £23m investment will go toward local projects that can integrate 5G wireless networks with both businesses and public services, while the remaining funding will research how AI and cloud computing can be put to even better use within telecoms and modern digital networks. Hopefully more detail will be revealed in the near future.