O2 UK Consortium Secures Big West Midlands 5G Project Contract

West Midlands 5G, which is one of the groups responsible for helping to deliver the UK’s first government-backed 5G testbed, has awarded a major contract to a consortium led by O2. Under this deal the mobile operator will build 5G accelerators that could benefit up to 2,000 businesses in Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Coventry.

Apparently the three “5G accelerator facilities” will comprise of centrally-located office and demonstration spaces, each with access to the latest “private” ultrafast 5G based wireless and mobile broadband technology, both indoors and outdoors, extending several kilometres. The deployments should enable businesses and public sector organisations to experiment with 5G features that aren’t yet commercially available.

Unlike 5G R&D facilities, the co-funded 5G accelerators will be designed specifically to attract businesses and entrepreneurs to solve major problems and opportunities that can be commercially scaled, when proven (SMEs and other organisations will be able to participate for free).

Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, said:

“I am delighted that the West Midlands is to be the first region in the UK to launch these cutting edge 5G innovation centres. These new centres will allow thousands of businesses and organisations across the region to experience 5G first-hand, and this will be a great advertisement for the West Midlands as we look to encourage more businesses to relocate here.”

Derek McManus, COO at O2, added:

“O2 has championed 5G business innovation for a while now and we are incredibly pleased to have been awarded this contract. Being able to help businesses in the West Midlands realise the potential of 5G is a fantastic opportunity and something we are excited to bring our expertise to. Our own consortium – alongside our collaborators, Deloitte, Wayra and Digital Catapult – worked very hard to win this contract and we look forward to bringing this to life.”

Obviously the current COVID-19 (Coronavirus) situation has thrown up somewhat of an obstacle for the launch phase of this project and thus the consortium is currently considering the best way forward, including remote access options. Otherwise we don’t have any further details on the proposed setup and services.