Top 40 law firm Trowers & Hamlins has advised The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) on the innovative 5G testbed roll-out which will see the region become the first in the UK to trial the new advanced connectivity.
The project, which will pool £75m funding from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and regional partners, aspires to exploit the full potential of the new technology and drive economic growth across the region. Not only will the project provide opportunities for locally based businesses to contribute to the innovative ecosystem, the advanced connectivity will also seek to support the region's growing digital start-up and SME sectors whilst also enhancing public / private collaboration.
5G, which is short for "fifth generation wireless", is set to be significantly faster than previous generations of telecoms technology, provide more reliable connectivity and greater spectrum bandwidth that can be exploited in new ways by users.
Amardeep Gill, Partner at Trowers & Hamlins, commented:
"We are delighted to have worked in collaboration with WMCA on this exciting pathfinder project. The joint venture between DCMS and WMCA is unique and the first major public intervention into the telecoms market. The potential of 5G is untapped and the region is primed to make the most of all those possibilities."
Tim Martin, Head of Governance at WMCA, said:
"We have been very well supported by Trowers & Hamlins as this project has developed and their combination of public sector and commercial experience has been invaluable."
The team was led by Birmingham Public Sector Commercial head Amardeep Gill together with Moad Giebaly, Daniel Goddard and Matt Whelan.
