Surrey University is looking to position itself and the UK at the razor’s edge of networking technology with the launch of its industry-supported 5G Innovation Centre (5GIC), constructed over three years with £70m ($106m) investment.
The centre is expected to capitalise on work already conducted by Surrey’s researchers. Earlier in the year, a team managed to transmit data at 1Tbps over a 100 metre connection, some 65,000 faster than is currently possible on 4G. In a more standard setting, the research group has developed technology that can transmit data 1,000 times faster than 4G, and has already filed 15 patents.
The centre will include several key telecommunications partners, including Samsung, Telefonica, EE, Huawei, Vodafone, BT, Three, Fujitsu, and the British Broadcasting Company. The organisations will work with in excess of 170 researchers on developing
Rahim Tafazolli, director of the 5GIC, said: “While we have already achieved record-breaking speeds, 5G is not only about delivering faster mobile internet. It is a transformative set of technologies that will radically change our private and professional lives by enabling innovative applications and services, such as remote healthcare, wireless robots, driverless cars and connected homes and cities, removing boundaries between the real and cyber worlds. These capabilities make 5G a ‘Special Generation’ of connectivity.”
