A consortium of eight UK organisations is developing a private 5G network designed to address one of the technology’s main barriers to wider adoption: the complexity of integrating equipment and software from different suppliers.
The MOSAIC-5G project, led by network operator Aerix, has secured more than £3.1m in Innovate UK funding as part of a £4.3m, 18-month programme running until January 2028.
The consortium plans to combine Antevia Networks’ 5G SHIFT private network, AttoCore’s 5G core and Aerix’s network management and service assurance platform into a single 5G Standalone private network.
The system is intended to be deployed in hours rather than weeks and managed through a single interface, according to the consortium.
The project reflects a wider challenge for private cellular networks. While individual 5G components are becoming more mature, integrating radio, core, management and service-assurance systems from different suppliers can add engineering work and complexity for enterprises considering private networks.
“Deploying private 5G today means stitching together fragmented vendor tools,” said Peter Gradwell, Chief Executive Officer of Aerix and project lead. “MOSAIC-5G will prove that UK technology can do better – a complete, sovereign, multi-vendor network that goes live in hours and is managed from one screen.”
The consortium includes Aerix, Antevia Networks, Spry Fox Networks, Noema Signal Labs, AttoCore, RANsemi, Liverpool 5G and Bath & North East Somerset Council. Extend Robotics is participating as the use-case partner.
The integrated system will be tested at three locations, including a live industrial robotics field trial with Extend Robotics, Aerix’s 18-cell outdoor 5G network in Bath and Digital Catapult’s laboratory in London.
The project also brings together technologies aimed at improving network performance and management. Noema Signal Labs is contributing its NL-COMM signal-processing framework, while Antevia is adding its iConn management platform and Spry Fox Networks its QuantumPath service-assurance technology. RANsemi is providing UK-designed acceleration hardware.
The consortium claims NL-COMM can increase spectral efficiency by more than 100% and support more than three times as many connected devices at the same quality of service. Those performance claims will form part of the technology being developed and validated through the project.
The industrial robotics trial will provide a test of whether the different components can operate as an integrated system outside a laboratory environment.
“Assured interoperability is the difference between a demo and a product,” said Stuart Waine, Director of Spry Fox Networks. “By testing integration continuously from day one across three real-world sites, we’ll give enterprises the confidence that a multi-vendor UK solution simply works.”
The project is part of the UK government-backed SNPN 5G Assured Integration competition. The consortium says it will also create eight high-skilled jobs during the programme.
