Business enthusiasm for 5G remains limited, with research suggesting just 15% of UK businesses are currently investing in 5G[1].
Sceptical executives with constrained investment budgets through 2021 might choose to wait before exploring next-generation networks. However, organisations that explore the potential of 5G now could get ahead of the crowd, which is where an innovative approach in the leafy English county of Warwickshire aims to play a key role.
An alliance that includes the University of Warwick, Warwickshire County Council and telecoms giant BT aims to help entrepreneurs and businesses in the local area create useful applications for superfast networks.
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"We believe that 5G is a game-changer for innovation and that we can create new use cases, new products, new services," says David Plumb, chief innovation officer at the university. "By doing that, it allows us to create new companies and new jobs. The alliance is about aligning the interests of the three parties and focusing on a number of themes where we know 5G could make a big difference."
The formation of the alliance has enabled BT to switch on the UK's first dedicated public 5G network at the University of Warwick. The "connected campus" will bring 5G mobile coverage to students, staff and visitors across a 720-acre site. People in surrounding areas will also benefit.
Warwick's campus is in a rural area, situated in the English countryside between the city of Coventry and the towns of Warwick and Royal Leamington Spa. BT will soon extend 5G network coverage to the University's Creative and Digital Communities incubator, to support creative and digital companies working with the university and those located in Leamington.
The hope is that 5G networks will aid the