aql provides cornerstone to UK 5G projects to drive a better connected society

We’re thrilled to announce our participation in five of the consortia funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) as part of the 5G Create Testbeds and Trials Programme. aql will provide the 5G delivery to each project that aims to explore and develop new use-cases and 5G technical capabilities.

aql’s ethos is founded in building collaborative partnerships and strong teamwork. This has been recognised by the award of multiple projects to deliver enabling technology to support the solid engineering fabric and future success.

Eden Universe – Led by the Eden Project, Eden Universe will deliver the charity’s message of climate change urgency via new and engaging media formats, which without 5G would not be possible. This intervention will engage not only the connected generation but also allow connected nature to be delivered to care homes and support nature-as-therapy through virtual platforms. Eden’s team interprets raw science centred on environment and climate. This interpretation turns into a narrative around the urgency for change. This narrative is then delivered via accessible, understandable content such as storytelling, experiences, arts and performance. 5G will unlock real-time content to augment and reinforce these messages.

Connected Cowes – Using 5G technology, aql will enable one of the oldest and most respected regattas in the world to go digital providing a platform to widen the reach of the sport. Working closely with Cowes Week, education charity 1851 Trust and other partners, the project will drive awareness of marine impact, science in sailing and marine technology to engage the next generation of innovators and sailors.

Live & Wild – Candour Productions, an award winning production company has challenged aql to deliver 5G services to support real-time filming in extreme environments, including caving, mountain tops and other hard to reach areas, to create engaging, inspiring content, with multiple camera angles.

5G Factory of the Future (5G-FoF) – Bringing together industrial and academic leaders from the manufacturing and telecommunications sectors, the 5G-FoF project aims to develop integrated solutions that will resolve key challenges to deploying 5G technologies in industry. aql will deliver a 5G network that will enable real-time visibility into manufacturing workflows that will help identify areas to reduce costs, improve productivity and increase output.

Mobile Access North Yorkshire (MANY) – Set up to explore how 5G technology can have a positive impact on rural communities, the MANY project aims to boost connectivity in remote areas of North Yorkshire that have traditionally been hard to reach. aql will deliver a 5G core mobile operator capability with roaming to enable superfast mobile connectivity. The deployment of next generation 5G capabilities will help support remote communities in North Yorkshire to drive tourism, tackle social isolation and develop early warning systems for flooding emergencies.

Minister for Digital Infrastructure, Matt Warman, said: “5G is about so much more than faster mobile internet speeds so we’re investing millions to help some of Britain’s brightest innovators explore the huge potential of the technology to improve and enrich our lives. The projects we’ve selected will demonstrate how the blistering speeds of 5G can put some rocket fuel in our economy and help businesses bounce back from the pandemic.”

Professor Adam Beaumont, Founder and Chairman of the aql group of companies, said: “We’re excited and proud we have been chosen to become the underpinning operator to support five transformative projects. My founding vision was to provide the underlying technologies which allow innovative and creative companies to reach the market faster. We’re keen to identify synergies and learnings between the projects to drive collaboration and use 5G as a powerful intervention to scale reach, impact and outcomes. We’ve been building the underlying set of capabilities which allow us to deliver some of these services since 2015, so this really is a great start to the year, being able to leverage that significant investment in infrastructure.”