Wolverhampton 5PRING Hub.
The 5G Application Accelerator was the UK’s first commercial 5G accelerator centre that was open to all and allowed around 2,000 Small and Medium Size Enterprises in the West Midlands to learn about and engage with 5G technologies, enabling them to grow and develop new products and services with suitable technical and business support. The project started in March 2020 and was completed in March 2022.
WM5G was based in three locations in the West Midlands, one of which was Wolverhampton University's Science Park where there was flexible office space, presentation, workshop and engineering space, 5G network coverage indoor and outdoor, alongside a cutting edge private 5G testbed network for organisations to see and use before they publicly released products.
The project worked with local business organisations including the Local Enterprise Partnerships, Local Authorities and universities to enabled start-ups and SMEs to learn about and engage with 5G technologies to grow and develop new products/services using technologies such as Extended Reality (AR/VR/MR), Robotics, Computer Vision, and the Internet of Things.
Key Stats
500
businesses increased their awareness of 5G technology and its benefits.
96%
reported a greater knowledge of the technology and the benefits for their own organisation.
80
use cases addressing real-world challenges. Assisted businesses to validate the application of 5G & loT technology.
75
Products & services towards commercial availability over the coming months.
84%
of demand-side organisations reporting a likely increase in commitment to adopt new products or services reliant on 5G.
94%
of supply-side businesses reporting a likely increase in commitment to commercialise new 5G based products or services.
Live 5G testbed in Wolverhampton
The Wolverhampton 5PRING hub was established at the University of Wolverhampton Science Park, with 5G-enabled outdoor and inbuilding services. This was in addition to indoor access to Private 5G and IoT Testbed facilities, instrumental in demonstrating the power of 5G as well as helping participants to validate their new applications over 5G in a controlled environment.
The Wolverhampton Town fund supported 59 businesses assisted by 5PRING and in addition 16 mobile sites were upgraded to provide commercial 5G services in the Wolverhampton area.
Wolverhampton 5PRING Hub
The Wolverhampton hub was also home to two long term Innovation Programmes:
- Smart Cities Focused on harnessing the power of 5G to create safe, cutting-edge, and successful Smart Cities, with challenge areas in Health and Social Care, Public Services, Social & Events, and Public Safety
- Live Events Focused on innovative solutions from across the events industry, covering topics including Audience Experience, Venue Management, Improving Interactivity of Exhibits and Other Use Cases
Creating industries of the future
The programme has helped put the West Midlands on the map as the place for 5G Innovation and expertise. It has:
- Supported the West Midlands to achieve the highest number of companies developing new tech, surpassing Greater Manchester and Leeds City Region
- Positioned the West Midlands as the most established out-of-capital destination for Tech and Creative industries
Key milestones
- Project started in September 2021 and completed in March 2023.