Scotland 5G Centre Announce Live 5G Network And is Open for Business 

• Innovation Hub in Dumfries goes live, ready to support 5G use cases on a dedicated private network. 

• Demos to include a live holographic display transmitting real-time 3D images to advance the ability to manage remote healthcare needs.

• The Forth Valley hub will go live later in the year making 5G testing accessible for a wide range of organisations and businesses across the region.

Today, the Scotland 5G Centre announced the opening of live 5G private networks to showcase, innovate and test 5G ideas, starting with its first rural hub in Dumfries in the South of Scotland. This will be closely followed by Forth Valley in the central belt going live next month. 

Businesses of all sizes and stages can visit the hubs and experience 5G first-hand. 

Live test beds opening across the regions will allow the S5GConnect programme to accelerate the adoption of 5G across the country with advanced digital connectivity supporting new opportunities and economic progress through innovation.  

The doors of the first rural live 5G network will open for business at the Scotland 5G Centre hub at the Crichton Centre in Dumfries.  Located in a new digitally enabled collaborative centre for learning and rural innovation serving the South of Scotland.  This key development demonstrates the Centre’s commitment to introduce new ways of connecting people and places to support the levelling up of the digital divide.  

The live network will offer demonstrations of 5G capability, as well the chance for others to test their own products and services. 

Applications on display will include communication through large format holograms.  This technology enables you to feel physically present with another person in a different location.  This ‘holoportation’ will demonstrate the opportunities for remote healthcare through a live, immersive and interactive conversation with a clinician in London. It showcases the next level of telepresence for healthcare, business meetings and education across borders.  

 ‘5G in a box’ will demonstrate a solution for rural areas with poor coverage.  The application provides true end-to-end 5G network capability.  Visitors will appreciate the benefits that 5G can enable. 

A further application takes tourism up a gear by using augmented reality.   This ‘smart tourism’ application will allow visitors to be transported to Cambridge to admire the King’s College Cathedral ceiling mural.  A mixed reality experience of a life-size Stonehenge will provide another immersive and engaging experience.  

The hub networks set up by the Scotland 5G Centre, place this advanced digital connectivity within existing communities to build and collaborate on existing partnerships. The Scotland 5G Centre is connecting with industry experts, local authority members, local businesses and public authorities to demonstrate the real benefits this latest technology has to offer. 

Paul Coffey, Chief Executive Officer, The Scotland 5G Centre, said: “It’s an exciting day as our first 5G network goes live in our rural Connect Hub – creating real opportunities for the investment and use of this transformational technology.  

“Our S5GConnect Programme is here to lead the way, a platform for innovation and to accelerate the roll out of digital connectivity by collaborating with the local businesses, academic institutions and partners.

“Scotland is uniquely placed to take advantage of 5G.  We are creating opportunities for investors and mobile operators to link with a variety of sectors including manufacturing, logistics, farming and healthcare.   This will in turn lead to scaling up and commercialisation to create new skills and jobs and will make a positive and real difference to Scotland’s economy.”

Lara Moloney, Head of S5GConnect, says:  

“We are excited to open the doors to SMEs and leaders who are keen to innovate in their business and make use of our first physical 5G private network to go live as part of the S5GConnect programme. Providing an environment to test and trial 5G marks an important step forward as we work with businesses and network operators to adopt 5G in Scotland. 

“Our innovation hubs create an opportunity for partnership and collaboration, allowing businesses from start-ups to established industries, to learn how to utilise 5G and use it to their competitive advantage. We have engaged with over 300 businesses in the last 4 months alone and are looking forward to supporting industry further.”