The UK government has chosen the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) to deploy the nation’s first multi-city 5G testbed. This award marks a major step toward bringing next-generation connectivity to everyday public services, industry and citizens across multiple urban centres.
As part of the successful bid, the WMCA will receive a total of £50 million to develop and run the multi-city 5G testbed. Of this amount, £25 million will be provided by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with the remaining £25 million coming from private and public partners who will trial new 5G applications and services in real-world settings.
Digital Minister Margot James commented on the programme’s potential: “5G has the potential to dramatically transform the way we go about our daily lives, and we want the citizens of the UK to be among the first to experience all the opportunities and benefits this new technology will bring. The West Midlands Testbed, which is the first of its kind anywhere in the world, will be instrumental in helping us realise this ambition.”
The programme’s initial focus will centre on three priority sectors — automotive, health and construction — where 5G is expected to unlock significant economic and social benefits. These sectors were chosen because they can leverage high-bandwidth, low-latency connectivity to introduce new services, improve outcomes and increase efficiency.
Subject to formal approvals, proposed early use cases include:
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Remote clinical consultations and outpatient appointments delivered by video without the typical issues of dropped connections or disruptive latency. Reliable, high-quality video consultations will make appointments more convenient and allow patients to replay or securely share recordings with carers or family members to support ongoing care.
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“Connected ambulances” that enable paramedic teams at emergency scenes to access specialist advice via live video conferencing with consultants or clinical experts. Real-time streaming of patient vital signs and other telemetry from the ambulance to the receiving hospital will help inform urgent care decisions before arrival.
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Live streaming of CCTV footage from public transport vehicles to enable faster, more targeted responses to anti-social behaviour. Intelligent camera systems enhanced by artificial intelligence could detect incidents automatically and extend effective coverage far beyond what is possible today.
The testbed will operate across three West Midlands cities: Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Coventry. These cities will host trials that demonstrate how 5G-enabled services can improve public sector delivery and support industry innovation.
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, described the announcement as transformational: “This announcement is game-changing for the West Midlands economy. This will be the backbone of our future economy and society.” The investment aligns with broader regional and national strategies to rebalance economic opportunity across the UK and build technology hubs outside London.
The Midlands region is increasingly positioning itself as a centre for automotive innovation. Coventry, in particular, is home to UK Autodrive, one of several government-backed initiatives testing autonomous vehicle technologies. The 5G testbed is expected to complement existing automotive trials by providing the connectivity layer required for advanced vehicle-to-everything (V2X) use cases.
By enabling secure, high-bandwidth, low-latency connections at scale, the multi-city testbed will create a real-world environment where private companies, public services and academic partners can develop, test and validate new 5G applications. This will help identify technical, operational and regulatory challenges early, accelerating broader commercial rollouts and ensuring services deliver real value for citizens.
Among the advantages of running a coordinated multi-city trial are the ability to compare performance across different urban environments, to validate solutions in diverse operational settings and to attract investment and skills to the region. If the trial demonstrates the expected benefits, it could serve as a blueprint for similar multi-city deployments elsewhere in the UK and internationally.
As the testbed progresses, participants will assess a wide range of use cases beyond the initial priorities, including smart construction sites that use connected sensors and autonomous equipment, enhanced public transport operations, remote industrial monitoring and new consumer services that take advantage of ultra-fast mobile connectivity.
Careful attention will be paid to privacy, security and resilience when designing and operating test services. Trials will need to meet regulatory requirements and demonstrate strong safeguards for personal data while ensuring critical services remain dependable and secure.
The West Midlands multi-city 5G testbed represents a significant public-private collaboration that aims to accelerate the region’s digital transformation, stimulate economic growth and deliver tangible benefits for residents, businesses and public services. As pilots move into deployment phases, stakeholders will share learnings to inform national policy and future commercial roll-outs of 5G technology.
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