West Midlands first to receive 5G

Posted on: Wednesday 05 September 2018

The West Midlands is to be the first place in Britain to receive access to 5G technology, which has the potential to transform healthcare and public transport.

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The West Midlands has been chosen as the first region in the UK to trial 5G technology as part of an initial rollout worth £75 million.

Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton will receive access to the innovative technology ahead of its nationwide rollout, with the potential for it to transform everything from healthcare to public transport.

Andy Street, West Midlands Metropolitan Mayor, called the technology "game-changing", before adding: "The potential of this technology is endless. This will be the backbone of our future economy and society."

Ways in which 5G could be used include allowing medical appointments to be carried out via video links and allowing ambulance crews to take part in video conferences with consultants when they are at the scene of an incident.

Meanwhile, on public transport, the tech could be used to monitor anti-social behaviour via intelligent cameras.

Margot James, the UK's minister for digital, stated that the West Midlands would be "instrumental" in helping the country to realise the ambition of 5G.