Supplier selected to transform digital connectivity at Harwell Campus
Technology laboratories, startups and research institutions at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, near Didcot, are set to benefit from enhanced wireless 5G connectivity.
On behalf of England’s Connected Heartland (ECH), Oxfordshire County Council has selected Vodafone to build and manage a 5G standalone mobile private network serving the campus following a competitive procurement process. Vodafone will begin work on the project over the coming weeks.
England’s Connected Heartland is a 5G Innovation Region encompassing Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Central Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. Coordinated by Oxfordshire County Council – and funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology – it is working to accelerate advanced wireless adoption for economic, social and environmental benefits.
Councillor Liz Leffman, Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, 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.”
The project at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus is funded by central government and will showcase how advanced wireless connectivity can benefit advanced manufacturing industry.
The Harwell Science and Innovation Campus is renowned for its cutting edge laboratories, startups and research institutions, such as the European Space Agency’s European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications (ECSAT) facility that hosts a 5G/6G hub. The hub works on setting the standards for integrating satellites with terrestrial networks, as well as drawing technology and product roadmaps, through its space for 5G/6G and sustainable connectivity programme.
The 5G mobile private network (MPN) will provide a highspeed, secure network for businesses and organisations at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus. This network enables customisation of performance and characteristics to meet specific connectivity needs.
MPNs facilitate the creation of specialised services that are not feasible on public networks, thereby fostering innovation in sectors such as manufacturing, transport and logistics, energy, and healthcare. This allows for advanced use cases including asset tracking, drone detection, machine-to-machine connectivity, condition monitoring, and augmented and virtual reality, among others.
Claire Harris, Head of Small, Medium and Enterprise Business at Vodafone UK, said: "We're delighted to partner with Oxfordshire County Council on this project. This initiative will 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."
Dr Barbara Ghinelli, Director, Innovation Clusters and Harwell Campus at UKRI-STFC, said: “The 5G mobile private network will empower our diverse research and development community. Harwell, as the first science and innovation campus project in the England’s Connected Heartland (ECH) programme, is an ideal fit for this pioneering project. 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.”
Antonio Franchi, Head of Space for 5G/6G, at the European Space Agency (ESA), Harwell Campus, said: “The new network will help advance ESA's efforts in terrestrial and non-terrestrial network integration. This infrastructure will augment our research into 5G and 6G solutions, aiming to improve productivity and enable applications in transport, autonomous vehicles and energy. We look forward to seeing the people and businesses in Harwell Campus benefit from this advanced connectivity.”
Notes
England’s Connected Heartland (ECH) brings together local authorities in Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Central Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire with a mission to accelerate advanced wireless adoption across the region.
Coordinated by Oxfordshire County Council, it is creating a blueprint that can be adopted throughout ECH and beyond to benefit the whole of the UK.
Harwell Science and Innovation Campus
Harwell is the UK's leading science and innovation campus where government, academia and industry uniquely work together to solve the critical problems facing our planet.
The private 5G network at Harwell
The private 5G network at Harwell will provide secure high speed, low latency, high bandwidth wireless connectivity that enables a high density of internet of things (IoT) devices to gather and process data from multiple sources. This optimises manufacturing and assembly, control of production in real time and many other enhanced capabilities that improve productivity. It will also enable seamless handover of internet protocol (IP) traffic such as voice and video calls as people move from one building to another.
European Space Agency
ESA provides Europe’s gateway to space.
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