UKRI announced £40m in new funding to support projects that aim to build the 6G communications systems of the future.
The new funding will support the ongoing work of three Future Telecoms Research Hubs, CHEDDAR, TITAN, and HASC, which will form a new Federated Communications Hub.
The funding will also help to create a national infrastructure for future 6G communications testing and development named JOINER.
CHEDDAR, led by Imperial College London, and JOINER, led by the University of Bristol, will be supported by research from the University of Glasgow.
About CHEDDAR
Initially supported by £2m from the EPSRC, CHEDDAR has now received an additional £10.5m to continue its work.
CHEDDAR aims to design proofs-of-concept of the 6G technology that will enable interconnection between people and devices.
These technologies must be reinforced by communications infrastructure that are safe, secure, and trustworthy.
The hub will improve understanding of the protocols, optimisations, and network decision-making that will enable near-instant connection for a truly digital society.
JOINER: The UK’s first accelerator programme towards 6G communications
JOINER is the UK’s first national accelerator programme towards 6G and beyond.
The hub is an R&D platform that interconnects academic institutions, research labs, and industrial partners to foster innovation within a collaborative environment.
By bridging the gap between experimenters, services, and equipment, the JOINER fabric interconnects all JOINER terminals across the UK. A multi-tenancy hybrid cloud platform enables end-to-end service provision.
The JOINER project will accelerate the UK’s telecom and technology approach by establishing an experimentation platform designed to facilitate innovation, collaboration, and research.
The team will integrate and upgrade national testbeds through a federated approach, enabling comprehensive research and development on future network technologies. This includes the UK’s first full-scale 6G communications platform.
Expand the UK’s research programme
Around £4m has also been allocated to TITAN, HASC, and CHEDDAR to build on joint work between hub members and new partners across the UK landscape.
The funding will help expand the research programme in alignment with the hubs’ objectives and showcase the first 6G communications trials and experiments.
