LONDON, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The government started a search on Friday for Britain's city of the future that will become a test bed for the most powerful wireless infrastructure available.
The Urban Connected Communities Project, a key part of the government's Industrial Strategy, is to find a city to become the test bed and trial area for a large-scale, citywide wireless 5G infrastructure system.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said the project will include testing how new technology can make urban communities inherently safer, greener, more efficient and more attractive places to live.
DCMS said it is expected the winning city will be trialling a variety of initiatives, which could include doctors and other health care professionals using real-time video consultation and remote treatment for those less able to travel.
It will also make traffic jams and disjointed journeys a thing of the past through widespread use of sensors and real-time monitoring and management of traffic and public transport.
Also revolutionised will be the way visitors experience tourist venues through the use of augmented and virtual reality technologies.
In industry it will organise maintenance of manufacturing assembly lines through use of robotics, with augmented reality enabling millions of measurements per second to be taken to predict when parts need replacing or rerouting to improve productivity.
Digital Minister Margot James said: "This is a huge opportunity for an urban area to become the flagship of our ambitious programme to make Britain fit for the future and a world leader in 5G.
"Trialling 5G at scale across an entire city is a chance to prove the economic benefits predicted from this new technology, test different methods of deployment and boost the connectivity of ordinary people working and living there."
Funding for the project will come from a 280 million U.S. dollar allocation assigned to develop 5G technologies as part of a billion-dollar plus investment in next-generation digital infrastructure.
DCMS is now seeking expressions of interest from cities and city regions with a coverage area in the region of 500,000 people to be the public sector partner and lead the delivery of the project.
Robert Driver, CEO of Cambridge Wireless on behalf of UK5G said: "Following the successful launch just this week of UK5G, the new 5G innovation network for the country, we are delighted to see the government announcing such ambitious plans to fund a large scale 5G.
"This, along with the other projects being funded, will accelerate the development and adoption of 5G in the UK."
The winning British city is expected to be announced in the summer.
