SNPN 5G Assured Integration (CR&D)

Overview of the Programme

Innovate UK is investing up to £18.5 million to support the system-level integration of advanced connectivity technologies in the UK. The competition focuses on Stand-alone Non-Public Network (SNPN) 5G systems, funding collaborative R&D projects that integrate UK-anchored connectivity components into technically assured, end-to-end architectures ready for early market evaluation.

The programme aims to address the current system integration gap, where many UK innovations remain at component level. Funding will therefore support the engineering, interoperability testing and assurance work needed to combine multi-vendor technologies into secure, operable connectivity systems suitable for procurement and real-world use.

Projects are expected to deliver technically validated end-to-end architectures that demonstrate readiness for real-world industrial and infrastructure use cases.

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What the Programme Supports

This competition supports collaborative industrial research projects focused on integrating advanced connectivity technologies at system level.

Projects should:

• integrate TRL 4–7 UK-anchored connectivity technologies into an end-to-end architecture
• demonstrate secure multi-vendor interoperability across Core, RAN and hardware or software layers
• undertake non-recurring engineering required for system integration
• validate performance, security and functionality in representative environments
• produce technical outputs such as reference architectures and interoperability or security evidence
• engage end users to ensure solutions reflect operational requirements
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Who Can Apply

Projects must be collaborative and include multiple organisations.

The lead organisation must be a UK-registered:

• business (small, medium or large)
• research and technology organisation (RTO)
• academic institution
• charity or not-for-profit
• public sector organisation