UK commits £70m for ‘next-generation’ telecommunications tech
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The government has committed £70m in support towards the development of “next-generation” telecommunications tech.
Additionally, the UK has joined Australia, Canada, Japan and the US in a worldwide telecoms coalition.
Dr Kedar Pandya, executive director of cross-council programmes at UKRI, said: “This £70m investment will, via the Future Telecoms UKRI Technology Missions Fund Programme, form part of the UK’s contribution to international cooperation in this field and provide tangible benefits to the population and economy.”
As part of the Global Coalition on Telecommunications, the UK will be cooperate across telecoms research and development, information sharing and “international outreach”.
“The critical telecommunications issues of today are global in scope,” said Alan Davidson, the US Department of Commerce’s assistant secretary for communications. “This groundbreaking coalition will help the US and our partners respond decisively to cross-border opportunities and challenges.”
This week the UK tech secretary Michelle Donelan revealed the Regional Innovation Fund for research development within the UK.
Donelan referred to “creeping wokeism” in scientific research, stating: “We are the party of facts, we are the party of evidence, we are the party of scientific rigour, and I will stand up for these core values. But increasingly, thanks to the slow creep of wokeism, this guiding light that Thatcher referred to is under attack.”