The U.K. government launched a £30 million ($41.6 million) competition to fund R&D projects with the main aim of accelerating the adoption of Open RAN (O-RAN) in the country.
Funded by the U.K. Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Future RAN Competition (FRANC) scheme is a key part of government’s 5G Diversification Strategy.
To receive a share of the £30 million, tech and telecoms innovators are encouraged to submit proposals for projects that will help to fast-track the availability of viable Open RAN products and suppliers and create a stronger case for government and business investment in the technology, the U.K. government said.
The government said that proposals could include exploring issues around power efficiency, the management of radio wave ‘spectrum’ resource, the availability of advanced software platforms, systems integration and security.
The U.K. government also said it hopes the competition fosters research collaboration between international and new homegrown players in the U.K.’s public telecoms networks.
“This competition aims to get some of our most creative minds helping the U.K. safely and securely deliver the amazing benefits of 5G for people and businesses,” Digital Infrastructure Minister Matt Warman said.
“It is a major part of our plans to harness the country’s tech prowess, open up the telecoms market, and create new jobs and investment as we build back better from the pandemic,” the official added.
The deadline for applications for the FRANC is 27 August 2021, with winning projects expected to be announced in the autumn.
Last month, the U.K. government launched a new high-tech lab designed to accelerate the adoption of O-RAN in the country.
The new SmartRAN Open Network Interoperability Centre (SONIC Labs) is part of the government’s efforts to boost the adoption of O-RAN technology.
Based in London and Brighton, SONIC Labs will enable telecoms equipment manufacturers to examine how their kit behaves in a fully interoperable, technology-neutral mobile network. The new facility also aims to encourage innovative vendors to enter the U.K. telecoms supply chain.
In traditional RAN, the networks are deployed using fully-integrated cell sites, where the radios, hardware and software are provided by a single supplier as a closed proprietary solution. With Open RAN the industry is working towards standards and technical specifications that define open interfaces within the radio system, including hardware and software, so that networks can be deployed and operated based on mix-and-match components from different suppliers.
Both the lab and the O-RAN competition are major pillars of the government’s £250 million 5G Diversification Strategy which was published alongside a timetable for the removal of Huawei equipment from 5G networks.
In July 2020, officials announced that Huawei’s gear will be completely removed from the country’s 5G networks by the end of 2027, following recommendations by the National Cyber Security Center (NCSC).
The government also confirmed that it will also implement a total ban on the purchase of new Huawei kit for 5G.
