Initiative to Unlock 5G Potential in Rural Wales

Cardiff University is leading a collaborative project aiming to unlock the potential of 5G technology in rural Wales.

Connected Communities in the Rural Economy (CoCoRE) will bring together experts across the University along with Monmouthshire and Blaenau Gwent County Councils, Cisco, Utterberry, Cardiff City Deal, Innovation Point and Bristol University.

The project will assess how the latest developments in technology can improve various aspects of life, from tackling rural isolation, to improving farm security and bolstering the tourism industry.

A £5m grant from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has been matched from a range of project partners in the public and private sector to solve issues around transport, flexible working, inward investment and isolation; it will also help to improve the region’s competitive and social position, by boosting the productivity and capacity of their digital infrastructure.

5G, with speeds up to ten times faster than 4G and will greatly increase mobile capacity across Wales, with the capability to transform how people interact with critical services – including from energy and water, to transport and healthcare, supporting remote healthcare and the ‘smart’ devices increasingly used in homes and at work.

The availability of 5G also enables other types of key technologies to be realised – such as edge computing and analytics. Cybersecurity also remains a key challenge with the use of 5G, an aspect that will also investigated in this project.

The project, part of £65 million investment from UK Government for 5G trials across the country, will run until March 2022 and involve academics from Cardiff University’s School of Computer Science and Informatics, School of Geography and Planning, School of Mathematics and the Data Innovation Research Institute.

Secretary of State for Wales Simon Hart said: “The UK Government is committed to eliminating the difference in connection between urban and rural areas whilst exploring innovative ways to use 5G technology to develop emerging industries, supporting our rural economy in Wales.

“Today’s announcement is a great opportunity for rural parts of Wales to boost the productivity and capacity of their digital infrastructure and forms a key part of our plans to build a UK which is fit for the future.”