UCL EEE Academics join £12M project to improve energy efficiency of UK telecommunications network

TUDOR (Towards Ubiquitous 3D Open Resilient Network), is a new £12M research project awarded as part of the UK Government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s Future Open Networks Research Challenge. Led by the 5/6G Innovation Centre at the University of Surrey, it aims to build a secure open network seamlessly spanning space, airborne and terrestrial communication infrastructures, capable of providing full geographic coverage at an affordable cost.

The ICCS at UCL will feature as a major partner and lead one of the main work packages, researching the cloud computing infrastructure needed for hosting the next generation of network capabilities for 5G and 6G networks. This includes the use of AI algorithms for increasing the robustness of the network and its resilience to disruption.

TUDOR is an ambitious project to create a secure and resilient network that covers all areas of the globe. At ICCS, we are leading research on the cloud computing infrastructure that will power the next generation of 5G and 6G networks. Using AI, we aim to make the network stronger and more able to withstand disruptions.

- Professor Miguel Rio, UCL’s project lead 

We are thrilled to be leading the work on the cloud computing infrastructure for the TUDOR project. The use of AI algorithms to enhance the robustness and resilience of the network is a key focus of our research, and we believe that this will be a critical factor in the success of TUDOR.

- Dr David Griffin, Principal Research Associate, UCL ICCS

The TUDOR consortium includes leading national and international organisations:  5/6G Innovation Centre at The University of Surrey, AWS (Amazon Web Service), AWTG, BAE (BAE Systems), BT (British Telecom), Ericsson, ETSI, IDE (InterDigital Europe), Mavenir, Nokia, NPL (National Physical Laboratory) OW (OneWeb), SatApps (Satellite Application Catapult), Tactical Wireless, Toshiba, Viavi (Viavi Solutions), VMO2 (VirginMedia O2), Imperial College London, KCL King's College London, Lancaster University,  Queen's University Belfast, Strathclyde University, University College London, University of Glasgow, AMD Fujitsu, MTC, NetRail, and Qualcomm.

Regius Professor Rahim Tafazolli, Director of the 5G/6G Innovation Centre at the University of Surrey, said:

I would like to thank the government for launching this programme, and we are looking forward to working with our strong international TUDOR team to ensure the award-winning Surrey 5G Innovation Centre continues to add to the multiple contributions we've already made to telecommunications innovation and technologies. I am confident that this project will help ensure that the UK's critical telecommunications infrastructure keeps up with the blistering pace of innovation that is happening across the globe and that the societal benefits of faster and more reliable communications are delivered in the most sustainable way possible.

TUDOR is part of the UK government's strategy to reduce the UK's resilience on a small number of suppliers to build and maintain telecoms networks. The £12M funding is part of a £28M pot shared across three UK Universities, with the investment dedicated to bolstering the UK's status as a global leader in telecoms research and development.

Michelle Donelan, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport of the United Kingdom, said:

“The technology powering our phone and internet networks is evolving rapidly, and with 6G on the horizon, we must stay ahead of the curve. This huge investment will see top universities join forces with industry to build, test and roll out the nuts and bolts underpinning new networks while ensuring our plan for a more diverse and innovative telecoms market is sustained in the future. The funding will also turbocharge our work to strengthen telecoms supply chains, so we are no longer reliant on a handful of companies to develop and maintain our 5G networks. 

Links

• TUDOR project
• Professor Miguel Rio's profile
• Dr David Griffin's profile
• Institute of Communications and Connected Systems (ICCS)

Image Credit

Gerd Altmann at Pixabay