Gillespie will head up a six-strong team tasked with supporting the Scottish government’s ambitions to make the country a key part of the UK’s developments and deployments in 5G.
Gillespie will chair the group, also made up of executive chair of Fintech Scotland, Stephen Ingledew, and Simon Haston, CTIO regions and devolved nations for BT, amongst others.
Gillespie said the group will seek to provide a leadership focus for the Scottish high bandwidth internet connectivity ecosystem and “put Scotland firmly on the global 5G map.”
She added: “To enable faster and wider 5G adoption across Scotland, one of the group’s first priorities will be to engage with SMEs to understand their current challenges, raising awareness of how 5G can play a role in helping them grow their businesses.
“We also aim to bridge the technology and digital skills gap in business, supporting the transition to data driven solutions and outcomes, and working with businesses and people to develop their skills in this exciting sector.”
5G investment
The group will seek to build on recent investment in Scotland’s 5G infrastructure with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport providing £28m funding for 5G projects across the country.
One of the confirmed Scotland-based projects will explore how 5G can support the construction industry by testing 5G-powered cameras, drones and sensors at BAM Nuttall’s construction sites in Kilsyth, Glasgow and Shetland.
Established in November 2019, the S5GC has pledged to launch a national network of 5G innovation hubs across Scotland with the first three set to open in the first half of this year.
