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Businesses can apply for up to £25 million to explore, develop and test applications and services for the next generation of digital infrastructure.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has up to £25 million to invest in projects that support the development of the UK’s 5G infrastructure.

5G is the next generation of wireless broadband technology and could offer users connection speeds of up to 100MB or more. It is likely to open up new services and applications in areas such as the Internet of Things and broadcasting.

DCMS funding is part of the government’s overall £740 million National Productivity Investment Fund for digital infrastructure.

The competition was announced yesterday by Minister of State for Digital, Matt Hancock.

See the Ministerial announcement.

Creating 5G testbeds and trials

Projects must contribute to the creation of innovative testbeds and trials in the UK and do at least one of the following:

• explore the potential for 5G to deliver benefits for business
• develop new 5G applications and services
• develop and explore new business models around key 5G technologies
• reduce commercial risks associated with investment in 5G

See how Innovate UK is supporting new digital technologies.

Competition information

• the competition opens on 23 October 2017, and the deadline for registration is midday on 6 December 2017
• projects must be led by a UK-registered organisation working with partners
• consortiums must be industry-led or have a strong industry component
• we expect projects to last 12 months and for project grants to vary in size between £2 million and £5 million
• details of additional funding for further phases of testbeds and trials will be available as the programme progresses
• businesses could attract up to 60% of their project costs
• a briefing event takes place on 30 October 2017

Find out more about this competition and apply.