An investment of £40 million, which is part of Government plans to improve mobile connectivity, is going towards 5G testbed and trial projects across UK industry. A previous similar investment has driven work in the healthcare, tourism, transport and broadcasting sectors; however this time it will support similar work in the logistics and manufacturing sectors.

Projects will trial ways that can help these sectors increase productivity and output, boosting the UK economy. The trials could cover different manufacturing processes as well as across road, air, and sea based freight logistics.

The funding was announced by Digital Secretary Jeremy Wright at the 5G World Conference as part of London Tech Week. The latest round of investment is through the £200 million project to test 5G technology that’s up to ten times faster than 4G and able to support more than a million devices per square kilometre.

“As part of our modern Industrial Strategy, we’re making sure that Britain has a telecoms infrastructure that is fit for the future. 5G is about more than mobile phone consumers having a fast and reliable connection anywhere in the country. It’s a vital piece of technology that can be used to improve the productivity and growth of our industrial sectors. That’s why we’re excited to develop new trials in areas such as manufacturing and logistics that can really benefit from 5G,” said Digital Secretary Jeremy Wright.

“In addition to the new funding, the Government has confirmed that it will consult on proposals to simplify planning processes in England to both support the further roll-out of 4G and aid the faster introduction of 5G.”

This is part of the Government’s long-term strategy for meeting its digital connectivity targets, outlined in the Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review.

The plans involve tackling barriers to deployment and creating the right conditions for investment to deliver better network coverage that supports the way companies work.