The UK and Indian governments are building a joint research network to design the next generation of mobile phone networks, starting with a focus on Open RAN systems—a technology that lets phone companies mix and match equipment from different suppliers instead of being locked into one vendor. This matters because the UK currently relies on a small number of foreign companies for its 5G infrastructure, creating security vulnerabilities and supply chain risks. The government’s 2020 diversification strategy aims to break that dependence, and this network is a direct response to that policy. The project brings together electrical engineers, computer scientists, software developers, and cybersecurity experts from both countries to solve the technical challenges that prevent Open RAN from working at scale. If successful, this collaboration could make UK telecoms networks more secure, resilient, and competitive. It would also position British researchers and companies to influence global standards for future 6G systems. The network is designed to run for five to ten years, producing both fundamental research and practical innovations that could reshape how mobile infrastructure is built and operated worldwide.
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In July 2024, the governments of UK and India announced the UK-India Technology Security Initiative (TSI)[1]. Pillar 1 of this TSI states that “the UK and India will build a new and enhanced Future Telecoms Partnership in order to collaborate on joint research on future telecoms, focussed on Open RAN systems, testbed linkups, telecoms security, spectrum innovation, software and systems architecture”. It is against this backdrop and our long-standing track-record of UK-India collaboration that our proposal for a Network-Plus in Future Telecoms is made. There continues to be a global push to explore innovations that will deliver the infrastructure, systems and services for next generation guided-freespace communication networks. The government’s 5G Supply Chain Diversification Strategy[3] was published in November 2020 and sets out a plan to deliver a healthy supply market for telecoms. The strategy sets out where the government will remove barriers to diversification, invest in emerging telecoms technologies, and work with like-minded countries to achieve the shared aim for secure and resilient telecoms supply chains. It is guided by the recommendations of the independent Telecoms Supply Chain Diversification Advisory Council. The strategy has three key areas: supporting remaining incumbent vendors in the UK; attracting new scale vendors to our market; and promoting the development of new open and interoperable technologies. The government’s Science and Technology Framework[4] launched in 2023, identifies future telecoms as one of five critical technologies to grow the UK economy, alongside artificial intelligence, engineering biology, semiconductors and quantum technologies. Its aim is to cement the UK as a science and technology superpower by 2030, by increasing research development and innovation investment. The UKI-FNI Project has been a community-driven response in support of wider UK government strategies with India and it seeks to bring together electrical engineering, electronics, communications, networking, mathematics and computer science academics and industrial innovators to enable better direction and coordination of research to tackle Open-RAN challenges. Specifically, it has created a vehicle enabling coordinated discussions and formulations of solutions to key technical challenges to be addressed to allow full leverage of Open-RAN as part to a wider future telecommunications infrastructure. Whilst the project is led by a selected number of academics from this community, it has been open to access for the wider UK Telecoms community with direct engagement from partners in India and key agencies such as Telecommunication Standards Development Society India (TSDSI). Indeed, since we are collaborating with key partners in India, we have also connected with other communities and research networks that exist such as the DoT Telecoms Centres of Excellence (TCoE) in India and the Indian Space Technologies sector. our intention is to leverage our profile to : develop a vision for longer-term programme of research (5-10 years), innovation and downstreaming encompassing lower and higher TRLs; facilitate workshops to address topics sufficiently deeply to uncover the challenges and identify opportunities for closer collaboration; bring together wireless communications engineers, computer scientists, electrical engineers and software developers as well as cyber security specialists, user communities and legal experts to engage with our Network be they PhD students, ECRs or established researchers; share best practice and policies of importance to the UK regarding Trusted Research as well as Responsible Research & Innovation with our collaborators in India. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/india-uk-virtual-summit-may-2021-roadmap-2030-for-a-comprehensive-strategic-partnership/joint-statement-on-india-uk-virtual-summit-4-may-2021-roadmap-2030-for-a-comprehensive-strategic-partnership [2] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/huawei-to-be-removed-from-uk-5g-networks-by-2027 [3] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65d85a5854f1e700111658db/A_guide_to_DSIT_s_Telecoms_Research__Development___Innovation_Initiatives.pdf [4] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6405955ed3bf7f25f5948f99/uk-science-technology-framework.pdf
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