Enhanced 5G network 'will empower science campus'

Technology labs, start-ups and research institutions at a science park will be "empowered" by a new enhanced 5G network, it has been claimed.

Vodafone will build and manage the dedicated network at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, near Didcot.

The project is part of the England's Connected Heartland (ECH) scheme - which aims to improve 5G wireless across Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Central Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

ECH is coordinated by Oxfordshire County Council (OCC), and funded by the government.

Council leader Liz Leffman said: "With Vodafone supporting the new 5G digital infrastructure, we're poised to explore the untapped potential on this exciting technology at Harwell, helping some of the most innovative businesses in the UK, based on the campus, to continue to thrive."

Among the organisations that have bases at the campus are the European Space Agency and the National Quantum Computing Centre.

The new 5G mobile private network (MPN) will provide a high-speed, secure network for businesses and organisations at the campus.

MPNs can be used to create specialised services, such as drone detection, that cannot be made on public networks.

Dr Barbara Ghinelli, Harwell's director of innovation and development, said the new network would "empower our diverse research".

"I am particularly excited that this project can serve as a framework for implementing 5G at other science parks across the ECH region, benefitting UK industry," she said.

Vodafone's Claire Harris said the initiative would "not only boost efficiency and productivity" but also "foster the development of new use cases".

"The enhanced connectivity will empower businesses and research institutions to thrive, driving UK economic growth and technological advancement," she added.

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