UK’s first national 6G research facility to be opened at university

A new research facility intended to help the UK be a world leader in 6G technology is set to be established at the University of Sheffield.

The UKRI National 6G Radio Systems Facility is set to give the UK world class R&D capabilities in 6G technology.

Funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the facility will play a key role in driving innovation in 6G by bringing together academics and industrial partners and giving them the specialist equipment needed to collaborate and develop globally leading 6G solutions.

The national centre, which will be based in the university’s Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, will establish a 6G research community in the UK and support the delivery of future 6G services.

The bid for this centre received strong support from more than 40 companies and academic institutions with significant interests in 6G.

Professor Timothy O’Farrell, Professor of Wireless Communication at the University of Sheffield, who will direct the new facility, said: “6G is the next generation of telecommunications technology and has fast become a strategically important area for research and development.

“If the UK is to maintain its place as a global leader in telecommunications then we need the specialist equipment that our academics and industrial partners can use to innovate and develop next generation 6G technologies.

“The national facility we are creating at the University of Sheffield will play a huge role in the UK’s 6G capabilities.”

Cutting edge research into many aspects of 6G radio systems will be enabled by the facility.

It will be capable of supporting research into 6G radio systems spanning all of the operating frequency bands – from sub-6GHz to sub-THz – including the 6G pioneering band at 220GHz.

Its key equipment will support multiple over-the-air transmissions at once, facilitating research into novel advanced radio systems.