CCS 60GHz mmWave Metnet Delivering 5G Wireless Backhaul For UK Government's £5M Smart Tourism Project

Successful bid by West of England Combined Authority consortium will see superfast 5G wireless services deployed across Bristol and Bath

Cambridge Communication Systems (CCS) Limited is delighted to announce that its innovative Metnet technology is providing superfast wireless backhaul for the 5G Smart Tourism testbed to be delivered in Bath and Bristol. The news follows the UK government’s announcement of a £5M competition award to a successful consortium bid led by the West of England Combined Authority. CCS’ Metnet 12Gbps unlicensed 60GHz mmWave backhaul solution will power enhanced visual experiences for tourists using Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technology in major attractions in Bath and Bristol, including the Roman Baths and Millennium Square.

The UK Government’s Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) is investing in a world-class 5G technology test network that will aim to put the UK at the forefront of the next wave of mobile technology – potentially adding up to £173 billion to the UK economy by 2030. The highly-skilled 5G Smart Tourism consortium – headed by the West of England Combined Authority – includes 5G network and service providers CCS, BT, Zeetta, InterDigital, and Bristol is Open. The cutting-edge testbed will demonstrate self-provision of 5G and Wi-Fi plus innovative mmWave backhaul capabilities from CCS. The testbed will also address safety issues by providing emergency service capacity through network slicing. Content and technology developments will be provided by the BBC and Aardman with support from the University of Bristol’s Smart Internet Lab.

Metnet from CCS is the world’s only self-organising 5G mmWave mesh backhaul. Delivering high capacity, ultra-low latency and ultra-fast deployment, Metnet is optimised for performance edge today while providing an upgrade path to much higher multi-gigabit capacity, and is currently powering networks to mmWave 5G performance in major live deployments across the world. Metnet offers its unique SON multipoint solution in the 24/26/28GHz area based licensed bands, plus its recently launched Metnet 12Gbps 60GHz 3D SON mmWave access and backhaul system in the unlicensed 60GHz band, using Metnet SON for frequency agility and interference management.

Commenting on CCS’s involvement in the innovative project, CCS CEO Steve Greaves said: “We are really proud to be playing a pivotal role in this ground-breaking 5G Smart Tourism project, and to be working with our bid partners to pioneer a 5G network that will put the UK at the forefront of next-generation wireless technology. We’ll be very excited to see the public response to this world-first innovation, which marks a key step towards the creation of the UK’s first smart regions.”

About The 5G Smart Tourism project
The 5G Smart Tourism project, funded by the Department for Digital, Culture Media and Sport, brings together a partnership, led by the West of England Combined Authority. It is a diverse, high profile and highly skilled consortium including 5G network and service providers (BT, Zeetta, CCS, InterDigital, Bristol is Open) through to tourism and business support organisations (Destination Bristol and Business West), visitor destinations (The Roman Baths, The Grand Appeal’s Gromit Unleashed Arts Trail, MShed), innovation centre (Digital Catapult), tech hubs (Bristol VR Lab), SMEs and large businesses (IBI Group, Mativision, Smartify, Landmrk, 3Sixty, Bristol Futures Global, Mo-Sys), research bodies (University of Bristol, Kings College, London), world-class media and content companies (BBC, Aardman) and public sector partners Bath & North East Somerset Council and Bristol City Council.