The UK Government has launched a £30 million fund to strengthen the country’s position in developing the next generation of 5G networks.
Called FRANC (Future RAN Competition), the programme will support innovative R&D projects across the UK to accelerate adoption of OpenRAN (Open Radio Access Network) technologies. Applicants are encouraged to propose projects that can fast-track practical solutions, attract further private and public investment, and help build a competitive ecosystem.
Proposed projects might address areas such as power efficiency, radio spectrum management, advanced software platforms, systems integration, and network security—each targeting improvements that make OpenRAN deployments more viable and scalable.
Matt Warman, Digital Infrastructure Minister, said:
“This competition aims to get some of our most creative minds helping the UK safely and securely deliver the benefits of 5G for people and businesses. It is a major part of our plans to harness the country’s tech prowess, open up the telecoms market, and create new jobs and investment as we build back better from the pandemic.”
OpenRAN promotes supply chain diversity by enabling smaller vendors to supply interoperable, standards-based components and software for mobile networks.
Matthew Evans, Director of Markets at techUK, added:
“Today’s announcement is another positive step in driving forward the UK’s telecoms diversification agenda, with concrete action to support the development of innovative products for mobile network infrastructure. It signals that the UK is a world-leading market in which to innovate and invest, and it creates opportunities for UK tech companies, SMEs, and academia to participate in a growing global market.
We face a challenging period: there is pressure to roll out 5G quickly while ensuring networks remain resilient, secure, and future-proof. That’s why government must also advance plans for supporting open and disaggregated networks, from technical standards to a long-term R&D roadmap.”
The UK has backed OpenRAN particularly strongly since its decision to remove Huawei equipment from national networks—a move that proved costly and delayed the country’s early lead in the European 5G rollout.
FRANC forms part of a wider £250 million 5G Diversification Strategy, published alongside a timetable for replacing Huawei’s equipment in 5G networks.
A related initiative launched recently is a £1 million investment in OpenRAN test labs called SONIC (SmartRAN Open Network Interoperability Centre), with facilities in London and Brighton designed to accelerate interoperability testing and deployment.
Simon Blagden, former non-executive chair of Fujitsu UK, has been appointed chair of the new Telecoms Supply Chain Diversification Advisory Council, which succeeds the Telecoms Diversification Taskforce.
“I am greatly enthused to be joining as Chair of the new Telecoms Supply Chain Diversification Advisory Council,” Blagden said. “I look forward to working with the Minister, Advisory Council members and the DCMS team to contribute to this important agenda.”
The deadline for FRANC applications is 27 August 2021. Successful projects are expected to be announced in the autumn. Application guidance and forms are available on the UK government website.
(Photo by Ian Taylor on Unsplash)
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