Glasgow Bids for £100m to Become UK's Smartest 5G City

Published: 23 April 2018

A £100million funding bid could catapult Glasgow into pole position as the UK's smartest 5G city.

Experts are applying for up to £100m available from the UK Government to trial innovative uses of the world's fastest, most reliable and highest definition mobile technology.

If successful, Glasgow aims to use next generation 5G infrastructure to boost the city's economy, health, entertainment, education and employment opportunities.

Hailed as a digital revolution rather than evolution, 5G is due to be launched in the UK in 2020. It is expected to be considerably faster and more reliable than 4G with fewer delays and higher definition images.

Potentially, it could transform the way businesses and services around the world work and present an array of opportunities for media, virtual reality and gaming as well as the growing number of internet connected devices such as smart watches, intelligent street lights, and even connected cars.

The Department for Digital, Cultural, Media and Sport (DCMS) is offering investment in a UK city as part of its 5G Testbed and Trials Programme. If Glasgow secures the funding, it would be used to install infrastructure to support 5G trials and push the boundaries of how next generation mobile technology could be used to improve daily life.

Cross-sector collaboration would be key to Glasgow's project which would involve the city council and partners in the public, private, academic and Third sectors as well as SMEs.

Councillor Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: "Glasgow has ambitions to be a world class city in which everyone flourishes and, if successful, this funding bid could help put us ahead of the curve in digital connectivity.

"We believe Glasgow is ideally placed to push the boundaries of 5G application by devising pioneering ways of using this powerful new technology to improve life in the city.

"Glasgow has a growing economy with a thriving tech sector, a highly skilled workforce, two Innovation Districts and world-class sporting, conference and entertainment venues. We have also proved our ability to deliver large scale, leading- edge technology projects with the £24m Future City Glasgow programme.

"However, the city also faces challenges in areas such as health, poverty and unemployment. Investing in digital connectivity has huge potential to help us tackle these issues in new and creative ways - ensuring all sectors of the city benefit from this digital revolution."

The closing date for funding applications is June 5th and DCMS is expected to select the successful city by the end of July then work with them to develop the project.