Policy paper

D5 London: connectivity

Published 8 December 2014

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

© Crown copyright 2014

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/d5-london-summit-themes/d5-london-connectivity

1. Introduction

We are living in an ever more connected world. Ten years ago, each of us may only have had one device connected to the internet; within just a few years, there will probably be dozens in every household. The statistics speak for themselves, with Cisco predicting that there will be over 50 billion connected devices globally by 2020.

2. UK progress on connectivity

Machine to Machine technology, the Internet of Things and 5G are all part of the next stage of the technological revolution. In March at the CeBIT trade conference the Prime Minister announced £45 million investment in the Internet of Things. We have set up Smart Cities Demonstrators in Glasgow, London, Bristol and Peterborough. The 5G Innovation Centre, partnering with the University of Surrey is the world’s first dedicated 5G Testbed Centre and an international hub for telecommunication research and innovation. Their members include BBC, BT, Huawei, Samsung, Telefonica, Fujitsu and Vodafone.

3. Progress in other D5 countries

3.1 Estonia

In Estonia, a secure platform-independent Internet-based data exchange layer called X-Road has enabled government to provide simple and transparent digital services with minimum costs.

3.2 New Zealand

The New Zealand government is undertaking a significant investment in upgrading the national internet infrastructure by installing fibre optic cables. This is a public-private partnership, with commercial telecom firms contributing substantial investment.

3.3 Korea

Korea has also made significant investment into the development of the Internet of Things.

4. Connectivity discussion points

These include:

  • the D5 shared vision for future connectivity
  • what infrastructure do we need, and how can we use experience from each other’s countries?
  • how we can work together on standards
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