Digital Catapult, the UK deep tech innovation organisation, has been selected by Innovate UK to deliver the Assured 5G Technical Authority (A5G-TA), supporting the development and adoption of secure, private 5G networks across critical areas of the UK economy. It will also deliver the UK’s first auditing and assurance framework for AI-native telecoms networks.
Together with Innovate UK’s SNPN 5G Assured Integration CR&D recent competition, it forms Innovate UK’s Assured 5G programme, within the Advanced Connectivity Technologies and Systems (ACTS) area.
Digital Catapult has led innovation in the UK’s advanced connectivity ecosystem for over a decade, built through delivering several projects in the 5G Testbeds and Trials programme, SONIC Labs and UKTIN on behalf of government. It will lead A5G-TA to deliver and establish a vendor-neutral assurance capability for Stand-alone Non-Public Networks (SNPNs), driving advanced 5G adoption through independent testing, validation and technical evidence to build confidence in the practical application of advanced connectivity technologies.
The UK’s strength in advanced connectivity technologies sits largely in its components, but economic value compounds at the system level when they are combined into integrated private 5G solutions a buyer can procure.
Georgios Papadakis, Head of Advanced Connectivity Technologies and Systems at Innovate UK’s Secure and Resilient Growth Directorate
Digital Catapult will also work to develop the data foundations for future assurance frameworks for Telecom AI by establishing a curated AI Network Data Catalogue; the UK’s first auditing and assurance framework for AI-native telecoms networks capable of assessing autonomous and non-deterministic AI-driven network functions. The AI Network Data Catalogue will contain openly accessible, high-quality network energy performance and operational datasets to create a valuable, sovereign knowledge asset to support future Telecom AI innovation while reducing dependence on external, proprietary datasets.
The auditing and assurance framework for AI-native telecoms networks will provide methodologies for AI trustworthiness, explainability and auditability, and continuous monitoring, by providing mechanisms to verify that AI-enabled network operations can be safely deployed within critical national infrastructure without introducing unacceptable security or performance risks. It will be disseminated to industry, regulators and standards bodies to encourage broad adoption and future standardisation.
Dritan Kaleshi, Director of Technology – Future Networks & Digital Infrastructure, at Digital Catapult said: “This award is a clear signal that Innovate UK is serious about backing UK enterprises to adopt advanced connectivity solutions with confidence. Digital Catapult brings ten years of independent, vendor-neutral leadership in this ecosystem, trusted by government and industry alike, to build the assurance framework this sector needs. We want to hear from companies working in private 5G, advanced manufacturing, logistics or critical infrastructure to get involved.”
Georgios Papadakis, Head of Advanced Connectivity Technologies and Systems at Innovate UK’s Secure and Resilient Growth Directorate said: “The UK’s strength in advanced connectivity technologies sits largely in its components, but economic value compounds at the system level when they are combined into integrated private 5G solutions a buyer can procure. The Assured 5G Technical Authority exists to build adoption confidence, with evidence no supplier can credibly produce about its own products: independent testing, validation and assurance of complete multi-vendor architectures.”
A5G-TA is open to successful projects from Innovate UK’s SNPN 5G Assured Integration CR&D competition and to the wider advanced connectivity technologies ecosystem. During the 15-month project, through industry and academic collaborations, A5G-TA will establish open technical resources, sovereign AI data catalogues, and reference architectures designed to unlock economic opportunity, supporting and informing technology providers, system integrators and private 5G network operators.
Bridging the gap between government and industry, A5G-TA will address barriers to private 5G adoption in several sectors including advanced manufacturing, logistics, energy and critical national infrastructure. A5G-TA will contribute to international telecoms standards, support AI-enabled telecommunications innovation, and strengthen the UK’s future telecoms ecosystem, playing a foundational role in the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy.
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