Chinese Company Joins UK's 5G Development Efforts

The University of Surrey Tuesday opened its 5G Innovation Centre (5GIC), bringing together leading academic expertise and key industry partners including Chinese company Huawei to develop the next generation of wireless technology.


The 5GIC is the world's largest academic research center dedicated to next generation mobile and wireless connectivity, according to the university. It houses over 170 researchers and attracting over 70 million pounds (around 108 million U.S. dollars) of investment.


In addition to Huawei, the center also partners with telecom carriers such as EE, O2, Vodafone, and technology firms including Fujitsu and Imagination Technologies.


The center's researchers have already developed a technology that enables speeds of one terabit per second (Tbps) - more than 1,000 times faster than the highest 4G speed, and filed over 15 patents.


"While we have already achieved record-breaking speeds, 5G is not only about delivering faster mobile internet. It is a transformative set of technologies that will radically change our private and professional lives by enabling innovative applications and services, such as remote healthcare, wireless robots, driverless cars and connected homes and cities," said Prof Rahim Tafazolli, Director of the 5GIC.


Opening alongside the Centre is the 5GIC's new test bed facility, providing researchers with a fully-functioning advanced 4G network. Over time, it will be upgraded to include fully-fledged 5G technologies and large scale Internet of Things (IoT). By 2018 the test bed will be able to deliver 10Gbs/per cell, ten times faster than the highest speed available over 4G.


"The Government wants Britain to be the best place in Europe to innovate and we are committed to supporting collaborations like this one to ensure pioneering research continues to improve people's lives," said Jo Johnson, UK's Minister for Universities and Science.