The government has announced it will fund a new organisation aimed at boosting innovation in the UK telecoms supply chain.

The UK Telecoms Innovation Network (UKTIN) will be an information point for telecoms companies that want funding or testing facilities for research and development. The body will also give businesses in the market the opportunity to collaborate on developing new technologies for mobile and broadband networks.

Today the government launched a competition for organisations to apply for up to £10 million to establish and run the centre.

The move comes as new figures from ThinkBroadband show that around two-thirds of UK homes and business can access “lightning-fast” gigabit broadband. This compares to just six per cent of the country in 2019.

The UKTIN will be run by a consortium of organisations with telecoms expertise and will facilitate collaboration on open and interoperable network technologies such as Open RAN, which "allows telecoms companies to mix and match telecoms equipment rather than having to rely on a single supplier when building or maintaining networks".

The government said the technology is crucial to its £250 million strategy to lower barriers for firms seeking to enter the UK telecoms supply chain.

“The UK Telecoms Innovation Network will be the first port of call for any telecoms company looking to access R&D funding and a matchmaker for firms looking to join forces on cutting-edge projects,” said digital infrastructure minister Julia Lopez. “Ultimately this is about making the UK the best place in the world to develop rapid and seamless new technology for the digital networks that will power our economy well into the 21st century.”

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