THE Scotland 5G Centre has unveiled Dundee as the location for its next innovation hub.

Businesses that specialise in technology and entertainment in Dundee are poised to be able to take advantage of the new facility set up by the Scotland 5G Centre, in partnership with Abertay University, Dundee City Council and infrastructure experts Scottish Futures Trust to accelerate innovation and investment in the sector in the city.

The centre said the launch is part of the S5GConnect programme to deliver a network of hubs to drive economic growth across Scotland.

Experts from the Scotland 5G Centre will lead work in the new hub in collaboration with Abertay University’s Emergent Technology Centre and the InGAME R&D centre, with the physical site location due to be confirmed in the coming weeks.

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The hub will offer collaboration and partnerships to bring together industry, academia and government bodies, creating opportunities for businesses of all sizes. It will provide access to a Dundee City Council-led testbed, a unique demonstration and development environment, where organisations can test and develop new 5G applications and services for potential business models.

The Dundee hub will support research and development on enabling technologies for applications where mobile plays a key role such as service delivery, manufacturing, training and marketing by diverse industries and sectors. 

Paul Wheelhouse, Scotland’s Connectivity Minister, said: “Dundee has already established a dynamic technology-based economy and the Scottish Government's investment of £4m through the S5GCConnect programme is providing the support to drive next-generation businesses in this sector. More widely, it will also create opportunities for the many SMEs across the city, including those in the services and public sectors.   

“This 5G Innovation Hub will support job creation, investment and skills development in key sectors where Dundee already excels, and crucially, it will support innovation in healthcare and manufacturing.”

Paul Coffey, CEO at The Scotland 5G Centre, said: “Dundee has a proud track record of partnership working with established tech networks to enable the city to flourish. The local team at the 5G innovation hub will support organisations, networks and communities to get involved in the acceleration of 5G deployment at an earlier stage.

"We will work closely with the city’s games industry to enable organisations to harness the many opportunities that 5G offers, such as truly simultaneous game play.”