Guidance

Find a consortium partner: Open Networks Ecosystem competition

Updated 14 September 2023

1. Introduction

The organisations listed below have each expressed an interest in forming or joining a consortium bid as part of the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) Open Networks Ecosystem competition.

If you are aiming to put together a bidding consortium, contact these organisations direct for further information about what they can offer.

Inclusion of an organisation on this list does not imply endorsement by UK government.

In addition to the organisations on this list, you can also use the following resources to help find a partner:

• The ONE Competition Pitching event, held on 18 April 2023, included presentations from 24 organisations who were looking to partner with others
• Contact the UKTIN Specialist Guidance Service at specialistguidance@uktin.net who can provide advice and introductions

Please contact onp.enquiries@dcms.gov.uk if you have any questions or requests concerning this list.

2. Asset Market

Asset Market, a digital platform that helps local authorities to attract and manage digital infrastructure investment by hosting telecoms infrastructure on council assets. We’re working with a range of local authorities across West London and the Thames Valley as part of the DCIA project. Visit www.asset-market.com for more information.

What do you have to offer other consortium partners?

We offer an intuitive map-based tool which can:

1. provide analytics and information to analyse 5G requirements in a visual, easily digestible way
2. identify candidate locations to deploy network equipment
3. streamline the cost and time to plan and track equipment deployment
4. provide an easy way to track deployment progress and network performance

We improve project outcomes by ensuring the right use cases are identified, the appropriate sites to host hardware are identified, and results can be tracked in a visual way that is easy to communicate. We bring strong relationships with mobile network operators, neutral hosts and local authorities. We are also skilled in project management and stakeholder engagement to keep the project on track.

What are you looking for?

We are looking for both:

1. local authorities or private landowners seeking to attract investment in enhanced 5G technology
2. technology providers with the appropriate network hardware and software

Preferred role	Consortium member
Contact information	Jeff Davis: jeff.davis@asset-market.com

3. Belfast City Council: Weaver’s Cross Urban Innovation Accelerator

The Weaver’s Cross Urban Innovation Accelerator is a partnership between Smart Belfast (Belfast City Council), Translink (Northern Ireland’s public transport authority), BT Northern Ireland, Digital Catapult UK and others. The Partnership is working together to maximise the digital innovation potential of Translink’s new £100 million Grand Central Station and the surrounding 1.3 million sq ft city centre development. Visit https://weaverscross.co.uk for more information.

What do you have to offer potential consortium partners?

The Weaver’s Cross Urban Innovation Accelerator offers access to the new Grand Central rail and bus station which will open to 20 million annual passengers from summer 2024 and will host the Belfast Dublin route. This will replace the currently constrained bus and rail stations nearby. Associated with the station is an extensive new public realm area and streetscaping that will connect to, and extend the area of, Belfast city centre. Digital connectivity works on these elements are underway throughout 2023 and 2024.

The partnership has commitments to supporting a ONE bid centred on Weaver’s Cross from BT (Translink’s strategic digital partner) as the network operator, and from Digital Catapult SONIC Lab. There is also support from Queen’s University’s world-class Centre for Wireless Innovation.

Belfast City Council is making available resources from its City Innovation Office to support access to local and regional government and other city partners. There is also potential funding available to stimulate novel exploitation of the demonstrator by SMEs via the Belfast Region City Deal’s ‘Innovation for Societal Impact’ Fund.

What are you looking for from other consortium partners?

Belfast partners are seeking a partners for a High Demand Demonstrator located at Weaver’s Cross. We are particularly keen to discuss opportunities with companies interested in deploying an Open RAN demonstrator as part of a 5g small cell neutral host environment.

Preferred role	Looking for additional consortium members / suppliers
Contact information	Mark McCann: mccannmark@belfastcity.gov.uk James Noakes: noakesj@belfastcity.gov.uk

4. Blackburn Rovers

Blackburn Rovers are one of the world’s oldest and most famous clubs.

Formed in 1875, Rovers were a founding member of the Football League and later the FA Premier League. Blackburn Rovers entered the history books winning the Premier League in 1995 and remain one of only seven teams to have won the Premier League title.

The iconic blue and white halves are recognised around the globe. The Club’s proud heritage is a vital part of its modern day identity and Ewood Park is a true football landmark.

We are a Community Integrated Club with Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the heart of all match day and non-match day events. We host a range of high density events primarily football matches followed by concerts and large conferences.

The biggest issue we constantly face with all these events is the poor connectivity for attendees coming to Ewood Park. Visit www.rovers.co.uk for more information.

What do you have to offer other consortium partners?

Consortium partners would be joining an already well established network of public, private and third sector organisations that range from Lancashire SME’s to global partners.

With the club approaching its 150 Year anniversary in 2025, the project would offer a unique opportunity for  partners to enjoy the unrivalled exposure that football can offer and enhance a series of planned events including high profile football matches and concerts at the iconic Ewood Park.

The club is an ideal test site for equipment, we hold regular events (Matchdays) and wider community events at the stadium, with average attendance from 12 to 20 thousand in one high density site.

The current Cellular coverage cannot cope with the quantity of connections currently and this results in intermittent signal that cannot be relied upon. The existing Wi-Fi provides signal internally but coverage for areas of high density is an ongoing obstacle for the club. This is stopping us from making use of additional opportunities that 5G signal could offer in these areas.

We are centrally located in the Northwest just a few minutes off motorway link. The Stadium was designed with easy access to the 3 main stadium stands with a single roof walkways that links between them for easy access to installation and engineers. The roof already host cellular Mast equipment from Vodafone/O2 site, EE and Three that cannot provide the service needed.

We would be an ideal base line bench mark as part of the pitch to demonstrate improvements the solution. Existing Fibre links all the stands together with redundant capacity and the main communcations rooms have over 1000 ethernet ports run to the majority of rooms and locations throughout the stands

Ewood Park would therefore be a perfect venue for testing the performance and resilience levels of the new 5G equipment.

We also have 2 additional sites that a more rurally located that do not currently have acceptable cellular coverage, they are linking via fibre and could be used as additional test sites to compare coverage in locations with limited or no current coverage too.

What are you looking for?

Blackburn Rovers already have connections with the Local Council who have agreed to add their expertise and reduce consortium overheads to this project.

We also have extensive links with the education side (to reduce costs and initiatives) and the voluntary sector through our Community Trust but what we would need to add to our Consortia would be:

• an equipment manufacturer vendor
• a software platform vendor that have software to provide a version of 5G transport communication (to allow the equipment to talk to each other) plus potentially a network design firm
• a specialist company to review the stadium plans, perform site audits and tests to establish range, blackspots best locations for equipment, look at footfall and density in areas to establish requirements of the new equipment, look at existing infrastructure and see what they can make use of
• a company that specialises and experienced in successful government bidding but this may be provided by The Council

Preferred role	Consortium member
Contact information	Steve Waggott: sw4gg0tt@rovers.co.uk

5. Bluehouse Technology Ltd

We develop telco-grade software. Visit https://bluehouse-technology.co.uk for more information.

What do you have to offer other consortium partners?

We have extensive experience developing core network software. We take care of the entire lifecycle of software projects starting from design to 24x7x365 maintenance. We are also open to joining a consortium.

What are you looking for?

Looking to partner with companies who need core network and systems integration expertise.

Preferred role	Consortium member or supplier
Contact information	info@bluehouse-technology.co.uk

6. BSI

BSI’s core skill is shaping standards for business, consumers and society. We have 87 offices in 31 countries globally and 84,0000 clients in 93 countries. We publish around 3,000 standards a year and are a trusted partner of UK government (with a Royal Charter) and the UK’s National Standards Body. We represent UK economic and social interests across all European and international standards organisations. We are the UK National standards Organization for ETSI.

www.bsigroup.com

What do you have to offer other consortium partners?

BSI is well placed to discuss the policy context of telecom supply chain diversity with representation on the Telecom Supply Chain Diversification Advisory Council. Our core business is disseminating shared learning as well as convening and polling wider stakeholders (not just research bodies – but end users). BSI’s understanding of technology ecosystems being accelerated through standards can be of benefit.

This will be especially important for 5G and beyond where the wider user community (verticals/SMEs) may have little understanding of the ways these new technologies can be best used (e.g. Industry 4.0). BSI’s reach and brand can help connect with stakeholders such as SMEs to use private 5G to boost market adoption – to ensure advances in technology meet their needs and help grow the ecosystem. This “top-down” analysis approach can add significant value to technical research proposals. Helping focus them on solutions that add monetisable value.

We understand that the UK market is too small to deliver the economies of scale required to drive a commercially viable alternate supply chain. However good a technology is, without international economies of scale it will likely not achieve the wider policy objectives set here.

Preferred role	Consortium member
Contact information	Roberto Ercole roberto.ercole@bsigroup.com

7. Cambridge Consultants

At Cambridge Consultants we conceive and develop truly innovative commercial products for the most ambitious organisations in the world. We provide research, scientific enquiry and engineering to match. We have the equipment and lab facilities to support these activities. We’ve built a team of over 800 people, across a broad range of disciplines and delivering over 500 projects a year. We operate in many markets but are preeminent in the world’s fastest-moving and most disrupted market areas namely telecommunications. Our major base for our employee is the Cambridge Science park.

What do you have to offer other consortium partners?

We offer our advanced R&D services in wireless systems to help realise product development goals for the competition themes. Our expertise includes, advanced RF design, analogue and digital hardware design, service design, advanced protocols and cloud native software. We specialise in the deploying the right technology to accelerate our clients’ success. We’ve refined our model to make the journey as simple and effective as possible. Our goal is for the consortium to feel as comfortable using us to deliver on time on budget the most complex technology complements required.

We have developed many advanced wireless solutions for numerous clients which have been transformational in operation and business terms. This includes Ocado’s proprietary 5G system to control their robots requiring high performance one of the most dense wireless environments. We have developed a prototype digital steerable antenna for SPL’s stratospheric airborne platform beaming high performance 5G over vast geographies and to exceptionally targeted areas from an altitude of 20,000 metres.

We conduct our own research project to inform out wireless thinking and keep our engineering skills advanced. This include recently developing xApp to apply AI skills to allow predictive video Quality of Experience delivery.

What are you looking for?

We are looking for ambitious innovative companies who want to revolutionise telecommunications technologies. Vertically integrated companies looking to leverage the latest technologies in order to enable transformational services to their customers. We can complement other partners to either provide part or all of the advanced software, hardware and systems development necessary to achieve a step change in the performance of their platforms. We have particular interest in improving performance and the sustainability of wireless systems and helping our clients to get operational services live.

Preferred role	Consortium member
Contact information	Fadi Bousaleh: fadi.bousaleh@cambridgeconsultants.com

8. Connecting Cambridgeshire

Connecting Cambridgeshire is the digital connectivity and smart technology programme led by Cambridgeshire County Council and working in conjunction with Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority and the Greater Cambridge Partnership (City Deal). The Connecting Cambridgeshire team has extensive experience of facilitating the deployment of commercial telecoms infrastructure, deploying and trialling innovative smart technologies and developing funding bids to support the region in achieving its aspirations.

www.connectingcambridgeshire.co.uk/

What do you have to offer other consortium partners?

We have experienced bid writing and Project Management teams that can support the development of the bid proposal and project manage a successful bid. We have recently successfully led or partnered on a number of funding bids including:

• CCAV3/CCAV5 - including 5G testbeds (lead)
• FRANC (partner)
• Opening Transport Data (lead)

CCC is responsible for managing our local highway assets, we can therefore provide access to these assets to support deployment including at HDD locations such as the Market Square, Kings Parade and Station Square that have significant levels of footfall particularly at peak times.

Our events team works closely with event organisers/landowners and we can put you in contact with a number of these including major events such as: Cambridge Half Marathon, Cambridge Beer Festival, Strawberry Fair, Midsummer Fair, Cambridge Folk Festival, Cambridge 10k. A number of these are hosted at Midsummer Common/Jesus Green as an outdoor venue.

We have links with the Universities, Cambridge BID and Peterborough City Council and can engage with a number of indoor and sporting venues/stadiums.

The locations we cover have a range of user types including leisure, tourism, sporting, business, educational and commuters providing a wide array of use cases.

What are you looking for?

We are looking to partner with a technical authority that can advise on and bring on-board hardware and software providers to deliver an Open RAN network to HDD location(s) in Cambridgeshire & Peterborough. They will also be able to provide the technical analysis of the testing of the network.

Ideally, we are looking for an MNO(s) to join the consortium to test the infrastructure in areas where there are already known capacity issues. We are particularly interested in a neutral host approach due to the issues of deploying in some of the conservation locations in the area.

We are able to lead on the funding bid and provide project management utilising both internal and external technical expertise.

We are also happy to work as a partner to provide the HDD location/venue and support the deployment of the infrastructure utilising CCC owned assets.

Preferred role	Lead or partner in a consortium
Contact information	connecting.cambridgeshire@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

9. Coventry City Council

Unitary Local Authority for the City of Coventry. Visit www.coventry.gov.uk for more information.

What do you have to offer other consortium partners?

Coventry is home to two work class universities: the University of Warwick and Coventry University. Coventry is in the top two UK local authorities for full fibre connectivity. There is a 5G standalone hub at Coventry University We are part of the WM5G 5G test bed programme and have a good relationship with WM5G and the DCIA partner Sitenna as we have made our asset data available for MNO use. Coventry is home to numerous events: most recently the UK City of Culture. Every year we host the Godiva festival attracting over 100 000 people. The CBS arena is home to Coventry football club and numerous high-profile sporting and cultural events. The VLR innovative tram system is expected in the city 2024.

Recent successful projects have included:

• Midlands Future Mobility connected autonomous vehicles test bed, enabling connected vehicles to travel on public roads with cutting edge technology and 5G connectivity
• the world first drone airport demonstrator
• this has been followed up with project Skyway enabling drone flight over a large area of the midlands beyond line of sight

The council would be active participants in an Open RAN consortium and can offer locations, connectivity, capability and enthusiasm.

What are you looking for?

Coventry are looking for partners to deliver innovative solutions which could be trialled in the city and then scale to the larger WMCA area across the west midlands. This would enable further scaling UK and worldwide.

Coventry City council has a number of buildings and assets which could be used to deploy cells and are actively looking at potential communications solutions for the VLR innovative light railway system.

• consortium partners must have a delivery-based approach and communicate quickly when issues arise.
• they must also be prepared to fail fast and iterate designs to enable a solution to be delivered within the timeframe and cost envelope.
• prospective partners must have strong skills in the telecoms sector and suitable for the part of the stack they are working on.
• software developed must be fit for purpose and developed using industry best practice.
• NCSC principles should be followed as necessary to ensure the product is robust and resistant to malware.

Coventry is primarily expecting to be part of the HDD stream as we have the locations where such solutions can be thoroughly tested. We would, However, be happy to be part of the hardware solutions or software development streams.

Preferred role	Consortium member
Contact information	Richard Greenslade: richard.greenslade@coventry.gov.uk

10. Day 1 People

Day 1 People (D1P) are a Professional Services Consultancy operating primarily within 5G, Space & Defence. We specialise in the capture, winning and delivery of complex programmes. Our mission is to support clients in realising objective improvements in both efficiency and effectiveness of a programme, portfolio or enterprise. We collaborate with Primes and SMEs to support Procurement, Bid and In-Service Delivery. We also provide management of Social Value, Collaboration, Stakeholders and Benefits, resulting in helping our clients solve complex problems with simple and effective solutions.

https://day1people.com/

What do you have to offer other consortium partners?

Day 1 People are comprised of a team of consultants with a wealth of experience within the 5G and Telecoms field. Our 5G consultants specialise in Design, Procurement and Delivery of Small Cell and Commercial Grade Private 5G networks. Our team have been critical to the success of Programmes such as Worcester 5G, The Scotland 5G Centre, Nexgworx and Jaguar Land Rover. D1P have excellent relationships with all the MNOs and proficiently understand the Ofcom Licencing process. We also possess expertise in use case design, and have the ability to run demonstrations and test approaches to optimise Open RAN network performance in HDD environment.

Additionally, D1P provide services to ensure the capture, win and delivery of the bid. We provide experienced Capture & Campaign leads to help establish the best bid solution, bid managers to ensure the best possible bid response is submitted, and project managers to guarantee the project runs smoothly when we hit the delivery stage. Alternatively, we can provide an in-depth benefits realisation service, enabling organisations to attribute quantifiable results against programmes, to provide tangible value.

What are you looking for?

We are looking to work with Partners who require project management services and who require a team to design a Network around a specific use case to ensure most benefit is gained. Our consultants can remove the burden of applying for Spectrum and ensuring the broadcast is both approved and appropriate for the Use Case in mind.

Preferred role	Consortium member
Contact information	Alex Knowles: alex.knowles@day1people.com

11. Digital Catapult

Digital Catapult is an RTO with more than 9 years experience working on 5G Technologies and future Open networks from Research and Development to innovation and scale up supporting industrial applications. Digital Catapult are a trusted UK Government partner with a reputation of quality and delivery through big programmes such as SONIC and UKTIN, future research through innovative projects such as 5G VICTORI, REASON plus deployment and operation of more than 10 vendor and technology neutral testbeds, indoors, outdoors and industrial environments.

Visit www.digicatapult.org.uk for more information.

What do you have to offer other consortium partners?

SONIC Labs as a Service offering

• pre-staging in a live OpenRAN 5G network environment the ORAN chain in a High Density Demand network, focusing on eMBB (enhanced Mobile Broadband) and URLLC (Ultra-reliable low-latency communications) applications and services
• OpenRAN integration, interoperability, performance testing across 5GC, CU, DU, RU, RIC ORAN chain

What are you looking for?

Digital Catapult are looking to provide services to emerging consortia that have an initial view of their use cases and technical challenges they are looking to address for their DSIT ONE bid.

Preferred role	SONIC lab as a service
Contact information	collaborativeresearch@digicatapult.org.uk

12. Ensilica

EnSilica plc (LON:ENSI) is a UK based leading fabless chip company focused on custom ASIC supply for OEMs and system houses, we develop RF, mmWave and communications chips. Visit www.ensilica.com for more information.

What do you have to offer other consortium partners?

EnSilica develops custom chips combining RF/mmWave and large digital functions such as beamformer, baseband and processing functions. We are developing chips advanced technology nodes that can bring a new level of power saving and performance to Open RAN systems.

We are seeking to put together a consortium with a goal of defining and make a prototype chipset (MPW/TRL7) for Open RAN that delivers highest energy saving with a resilient supply chain. Market driven requirement around an Arm based high-capacity massive MIMO RU (6/7.2 split) using extensive hardware accelerators to deliver best-in-class power and spectral efficiency.

What are you looking for?

We are seeking MNO and/or Network equipment providers requiring custom RF, digital or combined RF & digital chipsets for their next generation of power efficient high performance products.

We are looking for them to help the chipset(s) and reference designs to address the global Open RAN market Partners wanting to bring the advantages of ASIC to Open RAN equipment – energy efficiency, enhanced performance, high security (PQC support), resilient supply chain and ability to implement new and novel functionality.

Motivation for wanting a chipset will include the following:

• replacing energy hungry FPGAs (RFSoC/UltraScale+) with option of integrating RF front-end.
• replace x86 platform with an optimized energy efficient; *arm based processing ASICs with hardware accelerators and AI/GPU accelerator
• integrate your specialist hardware algorithm in the chipset, giving them a competitive advantage or licensing fees.

We are also seeking Low Phy IP provider(s) and other differentiated hardware / software 5G IP providers and Security IP providers with post quantum cryptography (PQC) solutions. We are also open to having an experience Lead partner with experience in running DSIT or similar 5G related consortium projects.

Preferred role	Consortium lead or partner.
Contact information	Ian Lankshear: ian.lankshear@ensilica.com

13. Factory 42

Factory 42 is a multi-award winning immersive technology and experience studio. We work with some of the world’s most respected brands and IP holders. We deliver pioneering interactive physical and digital experiences across live events, AR & VR. Driving significant consumer and brand impact and behaviour change, with 15 major awards in the last 12 months alone.

www.factory42.uk/

What do you have to offer other consortium partners?

We’ve been on a 6 year R&D journey, working out the best way to create world class XR products. Our XR toolkit enables our talented team of artists, designers and engineers to efficiently build new products. We were the lead partner on the Green Planet AR Experience project, which was part of the 5G Create programme from DCMS, building and operating all digital and physical elements of the experience, to deliver the UK’s #1 ranked Immersive Experience in 2022 with more than 10,000 customers across a month.

What are you looking for?

We would like to join a consortium, who plan to submit a bid to the DSIT ONE programme, as a subcontractor. We can bring our expertise in creating large scale public XR experiences to a consortium looking to prove High Density Demand (HDD) use cases, and drive significant footfall to locations.

Preferred role	Consortium member
Contact information	Stephen Stewart: stephen.stewart@factory42.uk

14. Flying River

With over 20 years experience at EE and BT, Flying River can build and operate mobile networks. We also provide industry consulting and strategy advice.

What do you have to offer other consortium partners?

Deep technical, regulatory and commercial track record.

What are you looking for?

We can support consortium partners that require specialist telecoms expertise

Preferred role	Supplier to projects
Contact information	gareth@flyingriver.co

15. Illuminate Technologies

Illuminate provides data collection and analysis services and software to clients in the defence, intelligence, and Law Enforcement sectors. The company’s innovative capabilities include network monitoring, intelligence analysis, cybersecurity, and data engineering. Visit OneIlluminate.com for more information.

What do you have to offer other consortium partners?

Illuminate Technologies has extensive experience in the area of 3GPP RAN network technologies. As part of this project, we would like to provide a novel xAPP in the software domain aimed at analysing RAN signalling messages for the detection of network security threats such as Denial of Service Attacks and NAS layer Ciphering and Authentication attacks.

Given our extensive software background in telecoms we would also be happy to discuss other novel xAPP requirements or aspects of RIC implementation.

What are you looking for?

Illuminate Technologies would like to join a Consortium that has a focus on the “RIC and other RAN Software Automation” challenge or has a strong software aspect in their project. Ideally the Consortium should have a RIC implementation and have an interest in hosting novel xAPP solutions as part of the portfolio.

Preferred role	Consortium member
Contact information	Craig Renfrew: Craig_Renfrew@oneilluminate.com

16. ISPB / Innovation Nottinghamshire

ISPB already have a successful track record WRITING AND LEADING BIDS for 5G project funding (eg 5G Connected Forest - DCMS, Digital Turbine Centre – DHLUC). Our sister not-for-profit company, Innovation Nottinghamshire created and deliver the UK’s first 5G CAREERS programme (we’ve worked with just under 1500 students so far). We are also initial members of the UKTIN Skills Working Group.

What do you have to offer other consortium partners?

We know that well over half the UK’s telecoms engineers will retire in the next 15 years; but we also know that demand for telecoms technology will be driven by teams in every sector – we aim to inspire students to think about the opportunities and impact a career using these technologies could have from construction to social care.

Our passion is helping young people looking to enter the world of work to get the best chance to understand the opportunities that 5G, and all the other forms of mobile digital connectivity, offer them in their future careers. We also have the skills to lead or support your project’s bid writing, collaboration and benefit realisation work.

What are you looking for?

If you are looking to include a SKILLS element in your ONE project we’d be delighted to have a chat to see how we could work together to make a real difference. We are happy to work as a Supplier or Consortium Partner as best suits the project’s needs.

As a small SME we have the flexibility and agility to respond to the changing demands of the programme. We don’t bring drama and complexity to a project, just commitment to get the best possible result for the industry and the communities that it supports.

Preferred role	Consortium member
Contact information	Nick Mellors nickmellors@ispb.co.uk

17. KATLAS Technology Ltd

KATLAS Technology is a platform provider, dedicated to unlock Web 3.0 applications across industries. KATLAS wallet technology has the following elements, spanning a trust graph for storing and sharing sensitive data:

• Wallets represent a secure data storage which can hold various data assets. *Role-to-Role protocols govern the way agents interact within the network
• Cryptography and Zero-Knowledge-Proofs enable AI driven automation
• Interoperability is fostered by means of SDKs and REST interfaces.

What do you have to offer other consortium partners?

KATLAS has specialised engineers in blockchain secure distributed ledger networks. We have exceptional problem solving skills where shared governance is key to automation in collaborative business ecosystem. We offer:

• universal interoperability
• cloud access, local network and connectivity
• power consumption is low, which renders KATLAS Technology a suitable choice where battery is scarce. Examples include KATLAS running on Raspberry Pi
• data protection and compliance by design
• the KATLAS system can run on various platforms and devices - laptops or tablets

What are you looking for?

We would like to integrate our technology to test its effective and value in the OPEN RAN environment with a view to building IP that we can jointly scale across networks and internationally. In short a supplier of technology that delivers unique value to consortium and its markets.

Preferred role	Supplier to a consortium
Contact information	Edward Cole: edward.cole@katlastechnology.io

18. Network Rail

Network Rail owns, repairs and develops the railway infrastructure in England, Scotland and Wales.

https://www.networkrail.co.uk/

What do you have to offer other consortium partners?

We are potentially interested in working with consortia whose bids involve one of our 20 Network Rail managed stations.

Contact information	Contact Network Rail via the DSIT Programme Development team (graham.francis@dcms.gov.uk). Please include brief details of your potential bid and consortia members.

19. nexGworx Limited

Building on the platform of success created by Worcestershire 5G and West Mercia Rural 5G, nexGworx provides professional services and ‘Testbed as a Service’ to those interested in testing and trialing products and services using advanced digital connectivity.

nexGworx helps companies of all sizes across multiple sectors harness the benefits of advanced connectivity and secure applications through smart factories, automated operations and productivity improvements.

nexGworx was incorporated in Spring 2021 as an operational subsidiary of, and operating from, Malvern Hills Science Park supported by the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership, working closely alongside its innovation accelerator, BetaDen. Visit https://nexgworx.co.uk/ for more information.

What do you have to offer other consortium partners?

The Worcestershire 5G testbed demonstrated 5G within manufacturing environments in the first UK based 5G smart factory trials at Worcester Bosch and Yamazaki Mazak, with a focus on production operations and how secure 5G technology can improve productivity. nexGworx now brings direct hands on experience in the implementation of packaged testbed solutions including:-

• multi vendor 5G NSA and SA core
• private 5G and 4G RAN
• multi Access Edge Computing (MEC) solution
• ‘Security by Design’, with secure testbed/RF testing
• outdoor 5G and 4G macro and integrated indoor lab facilities
• spectrum management
• innovation programme supporting small and micro innovators
• carrier grade multi site interconnection
• enterprise Tier-1 ISP peered cloud connection
• integration with partner networks.
• use case design and development

As well as technical and project expertise we provide access to a full set of professional services. These services include access to an extensive associate network and deep experience of DSIT(UK5G) bid processes, including subsidy control and project, commercial & financial management.

nexGworx also has the opportunity to introduce one or more parties capable of offering a challenging HDD environment through which to test appropriate technical developments through to live operations.

What are you looking for?

nexGworx is seeking to supply services to one or a number of ONE partners / consortia.

Our primary interest is in supporting developments to deliver performance improvements in high demand density environments.

Our professional services offering lends itself to projects of any scope and size, particularly where consortia / partners may be lacking scarce and experienced resources in key areas such as DSIT commercial and financial management of the bid / grant / collaboration agreements, UK subsidy control, and / or use case development and delivery, including security aspects.

In its ONE competition briefings, DSIT has emphasised the criticality of strong commercial and financial support in the development and management of successful projects. nexGworx offers these capabilities based on strong past experience of similar consortium based projects.

Please use the contact detail on this form to speak further with our Managing Director, Ste Ashton.

Preferred role	Supplier
Contact information	Ste Ashton (Managing Director): Ste.ashton@nexGworx.co.uk Telephone: 01905 845389

20. The Scotland 5G Centre

The Scotland 5G Centre is the platform for accelerating the deployment and adoption of 5G networks and advanced connectivity in Scotland’s public and private sectors. Funded by the Scottish Government, the Centre is uniquely positioned with connections to industry, telecom providers and academia.

We have a network of 6 hubs, located nationwide, providing an opportunity for public and private sectors, start-ups, entrepreneurs and academic researchers to test new 5G-enabled products, services and solutions.

The Centre provides the Programme Management Office (PMO) function to deliver the DSIT-funded FRANC 5G DU-Volution consortium, which aims to create an Open RAN Distribution Unit (DU). Visit https://scotland5gcentre.org/ for more information.

What do you have to offer other consortium partners?

1: HDD Venues in Scotland for Open RAN and RIC demonstrations. Our hubs are strongly connected with the local ecosystem, including local administrations. Therefore, we offer to interested consortia the possibility to demonstrate and create new use cases in key national locations such as airports, large campuses and event venues. This also very much aligns with the new UK Wireless Infrastructure Strategy recently announced.

2: PMO functions for UK-Wide consortia. We have an excellent track record in rolling out DSIT technology programmes. We can also support writing bids.

3: Marketing and Communications functions, to maximise the dissemination and sharing of results, enabling wider industry learnings and informing future decisions around the use of Open RAN equipment.

What are you looking for?

1: Technology Partners: Telecoms hardware/software vendors. 2: Mobile Network Operators 3: System Integrators Across the UK and with a special interest in Scotland as well.

Preferred role	Consortium member
Contact information	Luca Campanalonga: luca.campanalonga@scotland5gcentre.org

21. Sckratch Ltd (Energy, Blockchain, Data)

Sam Botterill founded Sckratch Ltd.(SK) following the identification of a set of curated data sources that are not currently being accessed by the utility industry. SK has been set up to exploit this opportunity, and develop the basis of an idea so that it can work to benefit all industries that manage grids or networks. A particular focus is on where these networks are highly constrained, and benefit from more accurate demand prediction along with long range forecasting.

What do you have to offer other consortium partners?

Sckratch Ltd (SK), working with its partner, a major UK Gas Network Company, has identified a number of data streams, currently unutilised, that would provide a much more accurate picture of when and where utility resources are required. The proposition is aimed at developing models and algorithms that incorporate this unused data on people movement to enable a reduction in the provision of contingencies and reserves currently required for seamless delivery of services in utilities industries.

SK is offering the opportunity to be part of a consortium of different companies that run grids and networks to experiment with new data areas, and develop “feature engineering services” within a data science environment. The output of these products will not only have the capacity to provide better customer service, but also to lower carbon output substantially, whilst at the same time reducing costs. Wider use cases are also likely to include gains to the circular economy.

What are you looking for?

Sckratch (SK) is looking to engage with members of the mobile data, and mobile network asset management sector, operators, or people having problems with managing “match day” demand. However, this could also be “match day” demand but in cities where there is no obvious match taking place to explain the demand spike.

SK are currently seeking pan-sector industry partners to support the initial discussions about how this proposition can be taken forward. The idea is to create a project group which includes a mix of utilities, telecoms, gas, water, electricity, and any other areas of the economy that run grids. Grids need not be physical, they could be virtual, as long as they require constraint management of some kind.

SK is happy to share a letter of engagement and contact with its Partner Company on request. SK would very much like to form part of a bid, or potentially lead one. However, SK understand that there is not much time to put this bid together, so are realistic about what might be achieved. It may be that this process finds partners to bid into another future competition or work with other industry competitions.

Preferred role	Looking for partners
Contact information	Sam Botterill: sambotterill35@gmail.com

22. Sitenna

Sitenna provide tools to support the lifecycle of modern infrastructure assets. One of these tools, which was extensively used on the DCIA project, is the asset mapping and project management function. Sitenna enables Local Authorities, Landlords and Infrastructure providers to centrally market and manage their assets. Visit https://sitenna.com/ for more information.

What do you have to offer potential consortium partners?

The platform, processes and c. 1 million Local Authority assets. All of which have been mapped and have specific Local Authority points of contact. In addition to the assets, Sitenna provide the opportunity to communicate via the platform on either a site by site or project by project basis. The platform facilitates document sharing and site access requests. Today, Sitenna work with all UK MNO’s and the major Infrastructure Providers.

The Sitenna platform is a secure product, having passed a recent DSIT PEN Test and has been SOC 2 accredited. The Sitenna CTO is an ex BAE Systems anti cyber crime specialist. Sitenna have a team of in-house developers and can alter the platform to suit the specific needs of the ONE Competition.

Having delivered 4 of the 8 platforms on the DSIT DCIA project, Sitenna bring extensive experience in working with government and the reporting requirements associated with public funding.

The Sitenna team have extensive telecoms experience across all the deployment streams and can assist a partner who may have the use case, but be lacking in the experience to deliver upon it.

What are you looking for?

Sitenna would like to partner with either Public of Private sector companies who are committed to delivering a successful project as part of the ONE initiative.

Sitenna have the Platform, Processes and Assets but require a partner(s) to bring the specific deployment use cases. Sitenna are willing to look at all types of use cases and are committed to providing a fast yes or no, when it comes to determining the ability to deliver. Sitenna are very much aware of the tight timescales in place.

Preferred role	Supplier to projects
Contact information	Richard Pain: richard.pain@sitenna.com

23. Staex

Staex is a peer-2-peer network for Linux machines based on Kademlia. It’s fully decentralized. Also provides a distributed master-2-master application orchestration aka lightweight K8s on top.

What do you have to offer potential consortium partners?

Staex is a software that interconnects and handles machines and applications securely and reliably. We are a deep tech start up based in Berlin, Germany,

What are you looking for?

We would like to experiment on how web3 technologies like Staex would benefit ORAN. We would like to find a partner that can provide ORAN for testing and collaboration, open minded for innovation. We want to make ORAN web3-ready!

Preferred role	Consortium member
Contact information	alexandra@staex.io

24. Swansea Bay City Deal

The Swansea Bay City Deal Digital Infrastructure Programme is a £55 million + investment to accelerate and improve connectivity across the region.

By working collaboratively with industry and government, the Digital Infrastructure Programme aspires to:

• build an inclusive digital landscape that meets everyone’s needs.
• provide better broadband for everyone…leaving nobody behind.
• create a smart region, ready and able to innovate and adopt emerging technology.

Our regional partners are Swansea Council, Neath Port Talbot Borough Council, Pembrokeshire County Council, Carmarthenshire County Council, Swansea Bay University Health Board, Hywel Dda University Health Board, Swansea University and University of Wales Trinity St.Davids. Visit www.swanseabaycitydeal.wales for more information.

What do you have to offer other consortium partners?

Tenby, Pembrokeshire is one of Wales’s busiest seaside towns, its population of 5,000 grows to 60,000 during peak tourism season. Mobile service is seriously impacted, and user experience is very poor.

The town hosts Iron Man Wales in September which attracts a large international audience. Spectators are encouraged to use the “Athlete tracker” app to follow their favourite athlete throughout the race.

Good mobile coverage is essential for this and would form part of the use case in addition to exploring smart town applications around the visitor economy.

We have digital champions in each of the local authorities of our region to act as a single point of contact between suppliers and internal local authority departments such as planning, highways.

The team in Pembrokeshire are well established and alongside the regional team have a wealth of experience in leading successful projects and partnerships.

We can provide a simplified acquisition and planning process to access public sector assets. We will deliver a targeted comms / engagement campaign with the local community, visitors, and Iron Man Wales to ensure the project is well received, maximises the opportunity and fully assess the outcomes of the project from a user experience perspective.

What are you looking for?

As outlined above we are well positioned to provide an HDD environment that requires dynamic networking to meet demand at peak times. We have access to public sector assets, resources, communications, local knowledge, relationships and contacts to support a bid.

We are looking for a consortium that has an identified lead and partners that can meet the technical specification of the ONE competition, provide the OpenRAN infrastructure hardware and software and 5G coverage to meet the needs of Tenby at various times of the year and for specific events including but not limited to Iron Man Wales.

Preferred role	Consortium member
Contact information	Gareth Jones: garethjones@carmarthenshire.gov.uk

25. Worcestershire County Council

Worcestershire County Council (WCC) prides itself in being a digital county council. Improving fixed line and mobile connectivity is at forefront of the latest iteration of the Corporate Plan – Shaping Worcestershire’s Future 2022 – 2027, which explicitly states that WCC will prioritise investment in digital infrastructure, support improvements in mobile telecommunications and continue to explore leading edge digital technologies, such as 5G, for the benefit of the county, building on the success of the testbed and trial projects previously led and delivered - Worcestershire 5G and West Mercia Rural 5G. Visit www.worcestershire.gov.uk for more information.

What do you have to offer other consortium partners?

We have access to technical and project management expertise and understanding of DSIT/UK5G bid processes (including subsidy control and project, commercial & financial management).

WCC previously led the Worcestershire 5G testbed which demonstrated 5G within manufacturing, educational, science park and community environments, with a focus on production operations and how secure 5G technology can improve productivity.

We also led West Mercia Rural 5G, which focused on exploring infrastructure challenges when planning, building and operating a rural 5G network and look at how 5G can enhance services for the benefit of residents, particularly researching 5G enabled health and social care applications.

As a Local Authority WCC owns many public assets, which could potentially be utilised for the appropriate opportunity. Additionally, we have good links for public venues / relationships with local partners, which offer good case study locations for a HDD project. Such as Hospitals, sporting venues, City/Town centre locations and County Towns/Festival/Event sites that have varied demands through the year.

What are you looking for?

Worcestershire County Council (WCC) is looking to join with a partner or a consortium with a primary interest in exploring and supporting developments to deliver performance improvements in high demand density environments. This may include stadiums, music and events venues, hospitals, high footfall tourist attractions and more.

Technology partners / communications providers exploring new technologies and service models in test through to live environments, particularly those keen to work on approaches to sustainability post project.

Preferred role	Consortium member
Contact information	rstepniewski@worcestershire.gov.uk

26. VIAVI Solutions

VIAVI is a global test and measurement company with solutions to develop, test, enable, assure, and optimise autonomous networks. We are a leader in providing the most comprehensive lab-to-field-to-assurance solutions. Our Open RAN and Core test solutions, including Digital Twins of network elements, enable customers to develop, validate, and optimise performance of RAN and Core network equipment. In the field, our test and verification solutions deliver 5G end-to-end programmable and dynamic networks for devices, radio access, transport, core and services. Visit www.viavisolutions.com for more information.

What do you have to offer other consortium partners?

Under the High Demand Density (HDD) Use Case/Demonstrations challenge area, we can offer our AI, assurance, analytics, large scale UE emulation, 5G Core emulation, Digital Twins of open network elements and location intelligence capabilities to optimize network performance under high demand.

Under the RIC and other RAN Software Automation challenge area, we can offer emulation of the network through a RIC Test platform to facilitate xApp/rApp development, test, and optimization under a range of scenarios, including training Apps using AI/ML models, App conflict avoidance, besides other functionalities.

As a co-lead to DSIT FONRC – TUDOR consortium, VIAVI provides the Digital Twin platform. VIAVI has extensive experience in working with Open RAN eco-system partners having participated in several O-RAN Plugfests.

What are you looking for?

Under the High Demand Density (HDD) Use Case/Demonstrations challenge area, we are ideally looking for partners who can leverage our AI, assurance, analytics, and location intelligence capabilities to optimize the performance of their networks under high demand.

Under the RIC and other RAN Software Automation challenge area, we are looking for consortium partners who can contribute to xApp/rApp development, test, and optimization, leveraging our RIC Test platform to emulate RAN measurements.

Preferred role	Consortium partner
Contact information	Paul Harris: paul.harris@viavisolutions.com

27. XMG Ltd

XMG Ltd specializes in OpenRAN R&D and its applications in the space of 5G private networks, mobile cloud, and also wireless broadband.

What do you have to offer other consortium partners?

For the use-case, we have ready customers with high demand density as it is financial markets with hundreds of terabytes data transfers every second and we are looking for CAN DO and RELIABLE partners.

What are you looking for from other consortium partners?

We are building 5G OpenRAN Mobile Cloud for the financial markets. We are looking for:

• partners on the OpenRAN on the hardware and software;
• companies specializing in NFVI;
• Testing facility, which helps us to test the reliability, interoperability and security.

Preferred role	Consortium lead, consortium partner
Contact information	info@thexmg.com