O2 has announced plans to switch on its 5G network in June to aid driverless car trials in Bedfordshire.
The mobile network will activate 5G, the next generation of mobile connectivity, to Millbrook Proving Groud testing facilities to support the government-backed AutoAir testbed for connected and autonomous vehicles.
5G is essential to the developed of autonomous vehicles, which will used the technology to transmit and exchange vast quantities of data, make informed driving decisions and communicate with other vehicles.
The network will use O2’s 2.3 GHz and 3.4GHz spectrum, or radio frequencies used for mobile connectivity, which the company was awarded by industry regulator Ofcom.
O2 is planning to extend its 5G network to Cardiff, Edinburgh, London and Belfast later in the year, alongside tentative 5G roll out announcements from rivals EE, Three and Vodafone.
EE, which is part of the BT group, confirmed its intentions to bring 5G to the same four cities, plus Birmingham and Manchester, throughout 2019 in November last year.
Vodafone also switched on 5G testing close to its Newbury headquarters on Thursday, using Active Antenna (Massive MiMo) antennas developed in partnership with Nokia.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport has invested £1.8m in the AutoAir project to date, which is also supported by the University of Surrey’s 5G Innovation Centre and the research and development arm of motorsport racing team McLaren.
The government has ambitious plans to bring driverless cars to UK roads by 2021, with Transport Secretary Chris Grayling calling the potential benefits for human mobility and wider society “tremendously exciting.”
Rob Wallis, chief executive of the private consultancy firm Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), said that while high volumes are unlikely to be driving around independently, live services will be running within the next two years.
“The technology exists, it’s certainly possible,” he told i in January. “The three current barriers to it are the insurance industry, the regulatory environment and public perception.
