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The 5G Innovation Centre at the University of Surrey is what any tech nerds’ wildest dreams are made of.

It's a hub of gadgets and ideas, with over 170 researchers are hard at work in the centre developing the revolutionary 5G network - a complete overhaul of the existing 4G mobile network we know and use today.


‘There is no average day (at the 5G Innovation Centre). These guys make rocket science look a bit dim!’ laughs Chief Operating Officer, Keith Robson.

‘Nobody else in the world has this large scale real world test bed that we’ve built around the (University of Surrey) campus. We’ve got 4 square kilometres of actual radios, if you look around you can see that we’ve got 66 radio cells - now that would normally more than cover a town the size of Guildford.’

This plethora of software and committed researchers has put Guildford’s 5G Centre at the forefront of the global race to the next generation of mobile technology;

‘We’ve actually got a little embryonic 5G community here now… Where people can actually try stuff out - so it’s the test bed that makes us truly unique.’

Amongst all the modern technology and science involved, the 5G Innovation Centre has made an unlikely ally in the local Guildford library.

The world of modern mobiles and traditional libraries might seem at odds with each other, but by investing in the Guildford Library’s ‘Makerspace’ project, the 5G Innovation Centre is bringing these vastly different industries together.

The ‘Makerspace’ hopes to become an area of the library where anyone can access what gadgets the library has on offer, such as 3D printers, laser cutters, computer coding and robotics kits.

Making these technologies available and teaching people how to use them is beneficial for both the library, which is always seeking new ways to engage with the community, and the 5G centre – who hope to have a community of people educated and ready to use their new network when it becomes available in 2020.

‘For a long time now the industry has said that 5G will roll out in 2020, now were planning to complete the evolution of our network here (in Guildford) to a full 5G standard by 2018…
‘To me the (Makerspace) project is about giving a chance to our corporate partners to sponsor a local project that’s going to be transgenerational… enthusing very young people, children, in terms of the new way of thinking in the digital manufacturing age.’

To see what gadgets are available to the and to hear what is planned for the Makerspace over the next six months, head to the Guildford Library this Saturday the 18th at 12:30pm.

Further information on the 5G Innovation Centre : http://www.surrey.ac.uk/5gic

Upcoming Makerspace events: http://www.guildfordmakerspace.org.uk/news/ 


Prospective volunteers and investors, contact: helen.leech@surreycc.gov.uk

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