Recommendation 8

Measures to support research and development form a major part of the Government’s ‘5G Supply Chain Diversification Strategy’. Nevertheless, the total funding of £250 million for initial implementation of the strategy is significantly smaller than the tens of billions of pounds invested annually in research and development by the main incumbent vendors. Co-ordination with existing academic and commercial research and development, with clear long-term objectives, will therefore be critical. The Government’s reference to establishing a research and development “ecosystem” instead implies, however, a less strategic approach.