Dundee announced as location for new 5G innovation hub

Dundee has been announced as the location of the latest 5G innovation hub, which will become part of a £4m national 5G hub network announced in this year’s programme for government.

The Dundee hub will support innovation and growth in the games, virtual reality and interactive entertainment sector as well as solutions for other sectors such as healthcare and manufacturing.

Another focus area will be cyber security, with the hub encouraging businesses who adopt 5G technologies to make use of proactive cyber security practices.

The hub team will also work with SMEs in and around Dundee to be more digitally connected.

In addition, the 5G hub will provide access to a Dundee City Council-led testbed, where organisations can test and develop new 5G applications and services for potential business models.

Work is currently being undertaken by Dundee City Council in partnership with the Scottish Futures Trust and Abertay University to create a 5G testbed within Dundee Central Waterfront.

Funded through the Scottish Government’s growth accelerator model, the testbed will help deliver the core infrastructure needed for the 5G innovation hub.

A total of £2m of funding has also been ringfenced within the Tay Cities Deal to support the demonstration and delivery of 5G use cases.

The 5G hub in Dundee will be set up by The Scotland 5G Centre in collaboration with Abertay University’s Emergent Technology Centre and the InGAME centre for games research and development, with the location of the hub due to be confirmed in the coming weeks.

Paul Coffey, chief executive of The Scotland 5G Centre, said: “Dundee has a proud track record of partnership working with established tech networks to enable the city to flourish.

“The local team at the 5G innovation hub will support organisations, networks and communities to get involved in the acceleration of 5G deployment at an earlier stage.

“We will work closely with the city’s games industry to enable organisations to harness the many opportunities that 5G offers, such as truly simultaneous game play.”

The launch is part of the Scottish Government’s S5GConnect programme to deliver a network of 5G hubs across Scotland run The Scotland 5G Centre, the national innovation centre for 5G.

The first hub, covering the Forth Valley, has already been set up in Clackmannanshire.

The Dundee 5G innovation hub will be operational from May 2021.

Commenting on the announcement, connectivity minister Paul Wheelhouse said: “Dundee has already established a dynamic technology-based economy and the Scottish Government's investment of £4m through the S5GConnect programme is providing the support to drive next-generation businesses in this sector.

“More widely, it will also create opportunities for the many SMEs across the city, including those in the services and public sectors.

“This 5G innovation hub will support job creation, investment and skills development in key sectors where Dundee already excels, and crucially, it will support innovation in healthcare and manufacturing.”

Councillor Mark Flynn, convener of Dundee City Council's city development committee, added: “The business community in Dundee currently enjoy a high level of connectivity and ultrafast services with good upload and download speeds.

“But as the nature of doing business changes and there is an inevitable increase not just in demand, but in expectation, we want to ensure that more businesses in the city can enjoy a more uniform experience, with the greater performance and improved efficiency that 5G offers.

“I am delighted that Dundee will be the site of Scotland's latest 5G innovation hub.”