The announcement was made this week by chancellor Philip Hammond during his autumn statement to the House of Commons. In it, he said that the government "... will invest over £1 billion in our digital infrastructure to catalyse private investment in fibre networks and to support 5G trials."
He confirmed the Prime Minister's announcement earlier this week that annual government funding for R&D will rise by £2 billion by 2021. Hammond also said that planned infrastructure between Oxford and Cambridge would contribute to the extension of a UK 'tech corridor'.
Cambridge Wireless deputy chairman Professor William Webb said: "It is very encouraging to see strong government support for the nation's digital infrastructure. At this early stage for 5G, targeted government funding could have a very beneficial effect in reducing uncertainty and encouraging innovation."
Speaking after the conclusion of this week's Westminster eForum 5G event, Cisco mobility CTO Sam Samuel said: "Mobile broadband and 5G should be viewed as part of the national infrastructure, in the same way as airports and railways. If you're going to be competing internationally in a digitised world, you need that kind of infrastructure available to you."
He continued: "It's about making sure that systems work together, which is even more important than questions around spectrum. If we start linking projects together - say looking at arterial routes into metropolitan areas in parallel with smart cities and autonomous vehicles - that could be a real benefit."
During the autumn statement, Hammond also pledged £390 million to be spent on future transport technology, including renewable fuels and energy efficient transport. This sum includes a £100 million investment in testing infrastructure for driverless cars.
