UK innovators are being encouraged to apply for a share of a £600,000 funding pot to trial 5G services across Tayside.
The initiative, delivered through the joint UK and Scottish Government Tay Cities Region Deal, is designed to stimulate innovation in next generation connectivity across the region.
The funding call is open to any organisations across the UK who have expertise in 5G – but the impact must be geared towards local products and services in the region.
Tay5G is a programme funded by the Scottish Government and established by the Tay Cities Region Deal to help businesses, individuals, public sector and the third sector to engage with 5G networks.
Tay5G aims to stimulate and support engagement with 5G networks across sectors which reflect the regional strengths and priorities of the Tay Cities Region.
Up to £600,000 is available through the Tay5G Challenge Fund 2 to support up to six applicants who can apply for between £60,000 and £250,000 to demonstrate impactful projects for products, services or solutions which use 5G networks. Applicants from across the UK are eligible to apply but are encouraged to engage with organisations in Tay Cities Region and Scotland.
The Tay5G Challenge Fund 2 is being managed by Dundee City Council and the Tay5G Board.
Councillor Steven Rome Dundee City Council convener of fair work, economic growth and infrastructure, said: “The Tay5G Challenge Fund has been designed to help the Tay City Region growth sectors embrace 5G networks and enhance their business by optimising processes, increasing capability through to enabling new products and services.
“We look forward to hearing from innovators with ideas for projects which harness the power of 5G technology to drive economic growth. We funded some fascinating projects in the first round, in fields as diverse as fashion, agritech, smart cities and broadcasting, and I’m sure that will be the case again.”
Partners of the Tay5G initiative include Dundee City Council, Angus Council, Fife Council, Perth & Kinross Council, Abertay University, relevant national organisations and other stakeholders in the Tay Cities Region.
Tay5G’s goal is to create opportunities to trial 5G mobile communications with use cases for all kinds of sectors from entertainment to manufacturing, healthcare to construction, and fashion to automated transport. 5G networks are especially useful in enabling advanced communications such as virtual reality, automation and the Internet of Things – a key tool for Smart Cities.
Through initiatives like the Tay5G Challenge Funds, the Tay5G programme promotes the exploration of the potential of 5G networks, unlocks access to word-class research and development expertise, state-of-the-art R&D resources and a diverse network of talent to develop impactful projects.
For more information about Tay5G and Challenge Fund 2 and to apply please visit www.tay5g.com and https://www.digitaldundee.com/tay5g/tay5g-challenge-fund-2
