West Midlands to roll out 5G-connected road sensor network

The new £5.8m 5G network will relay live traffic information to the regional control centre enabling TfWM to take actions including diverting buses and implementing diversions as queues build up. In the long-term, the duo claim that they will use the traffic data gathered to “help plan future transport development”.

In its first phase, the project aims to “capture a more granular picture of traffic flow” through the deployment of 5G enabled sensors, radar and cameras across A and B roads in the West Midlands.

After the initial data gathering phase, TfWM and WM5G will deploy 280 sensors provided by technology companies Vivacity and Vaisala across the seven constituent authorities of the West Midlands Combined Authority area collecting data up to March 2022.

According to TfWM, the Key Route Network from where they are collecting data covers 7% of the roads in the region but more than half of all traffic causing several “congestion hotspots”.