Will North of Tyne Aims to Boost 5G Roll Out be Successful?
After North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA) announced plans for a pilot project to boost 4G and 5G connectivity in the North East through the Future Connectivity Partnership, Housing Industry Leaders highlights how far £500,000 will go in the development.
After the Government’s announcement of a £4 million Digital Connectivity Infrastructure Accelerator (DCIA), the NTCA are one of eight trail areas and will receive £500,000 to improve 4G and 5G connectivity.
From a local authority perspective, the scheme includes North Tyneside Borough Council, Newcastle City Council, South Tyneside Council and Sunderland City Council, along with the Connected Places Catapult, connectivity consultancy Farrpoint and platform provider Sitenna.
Collaboration is at the heart of smart cities’ connectivity
With many private and public sectors coming together, the key objectives of the projects include collaboration and connectivity.
NCTA said the project will: “enable local authorities to share information with mobile telecoms operators to easily see what infrastructure is available, such as streetlights, tall buildings and pockets of unused land, that might help them broaden their coverage and reach.”
Building skills in local communities is another key policy from the Government. This project aims to increase the retention of young people in the area while developing new skills in the current workforce.
Recognising digital drive in the North East is essential for levelling up
Dr Henry Kippin, managing director of NCTA, said: “This government investment is an important recognition of our drive to improve digital connectivity for businesses, residents and communities in the North of Tyne Combined Authority.
Working with our partners in Sunderland and South Tyneside and across the North East, we are building the collaboration to keep the region at the forefront of 5G and digital innovation
Assistant director for smart cities at Sunderland City Council, Liz St Louis, said: “Our regional smart city framework is growing – the DCIA pilot will enable us, as digital leaders across the combined authority area, to accelerate our progress in rolling out critical digital infrastructure to support the transformation of our cities and towns.”
Liz has previously attended a Housing Industry Leaders City event to discuss how Sunderland has set the benchmark for developing a smart city and how other areas in the North East can follow.
