Oxfordshire County Council has announced that Vodafone will provide a managed 5G standalone private mobile network for the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus.
The local authority has carried out the procurement on behalf of England’s Connected Heartland (ECH), which is working on the adoption of wireless technologies for Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Central Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.
Vodafone is expected to begin work on the project over the coming weeks.
The campus provides a site for laboratories, start-ups and research institutions, including the European Space Agency’s European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications.
Supporting specialised services
The 5G network will enable the customisation of performance and characteristics to meet specific connectivity needs, which will make it possible to create specialised services that are not feasible on public networks.
Oxfordshire highlighted the potential in areas such as asset tracking, drone detection, machine-to-machine connectivity, condition monitoring, and augmented and virtual reality.
Council leader Cllr Liz Leffman 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.”
ECH is funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
