techUK’s Diversifying Telecoms Campaign Week: 22-26 March 2021

From 22 March, techUK is hosting a campaign week on Diversifying Telecoms, exploring themes and ideas on the future of telecoms in the UK, new network types, services and architectures, and the key security and resilience challenges in open and disaggregated networks. We will also examine the longer-term trends in communications infrastructure—from AI, virtualisation, programmability and open data—and the emerging tech that will create the networks of the future.  

We are looking for techUK member companies to submit guest blogs for techUK’s Diversifying Telecoms campaign week, covering one of the themes below. Please do reach out directly to get involved!  

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Between 22-26 March 2021, techUK’s Communications Infrastructure and Services will be sharing the latest news, insight and opinion from the telecoms sector on what Diversifying Telecoms means for the UK.  

Following interventions by government in the current supply chain for the UK’s mobile networks, including the 5G Supply Chain Diversification Strategy—led by the Telecoms Diversification Task Force—policy makers, industry and academia are exploring how best to develop the capability of the UK's vibrant and innovative telecoms sector, such as incentivising research and development in the sector, and accelerating the development of open and interoperable equipment which can be used by multiple vendors.  

Themes

Our campaign week will explore these themes, and more. We will examine the potential of new network architectures, such as “breaking open” the RAN and virtualisation of different layers of the network. We will then consider the key security and resilience challenges in doing so, the role that standards and principles might play in this area, and how best to secure and maintain our nation’s critical communications networks. Wednesday’s theme will look at ways to stimulate demand for diversification through the rise of new enterprise networks, what vendor supply chains might look like with the rise of private cellular deployments, and the transformation of verticals (like utilities, manufacturing, healthcare). Towards the end of the week we will explore some of the emerging tech and innovation—both today and in the longer-term—that will impact our future telecoms networks, and the skills needed to deliver. Finally, on Friday we will seek to understand the UK’s domestic capability to deliver telecoms diversification and network evolution, as well as how to make the UK an attractive market for new and established international players.  

  • Monday — The potential of open and disaggregated networks 
  • Tuesday — Security and resilience considerations for future telecoms 
  • Wednesday — Demand diversity: new enterprise networks  
  • Thursday — Emerging tech, innovation and skills: what’s on the horizon?  
  • Friday — How to deliver: developing domestic capability and attracting new vendors 

If you are interested in taking part, please get in touch with Sophie James, the deadline for submissions is Wednesday 17 March 2021. All blogs must be submitted under our contributor guidelines found here. Keep up to date on Twitter @techUK and LinkedIn #DiversifyingTelecoms

Learn more

techUK's Communications Infrastructure Programme brings together government, the regulator, telecom companies and its stakeholders around four themes; shared infrastructure, security and resilience, unlicensed spectrum and our 5G ecosystem. We do so to lower the cost to the sector of deployment, ensure confidence in networks, spur innovation and unlock value for all parties in 5G. This is delivered through a mix of thought leadership, multilateral engagement and ecosystem building.

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Sophie Greaves

Sophie Greaves

Head of Telecoms and Spectrum Policy, techUK

Tales Gaspar

Tales Gaspar

Programme Manager, UK SPF and Satellite, techUK

Matthew Wild

Programme Assistant - Markets, techUK