Blu Wireless selected by Innovate UK for rail project

The mmWave technology specialist was awarded lead in the ‘High Gain mmWave for Wireless Backhaul for Transport Applications’ category in the Future Telecoms Challenge.

This category, along with several others, is part of a government-backed competition from Innovate UK which aims to grow UK-based ecosystems and commercial offerings for future telecommunications, such as 6G, that can be integrated into functional prototypes and comprehensive system solutions.

Blu Wireless’ vision for the project is to replace the need for trackside fibre with a higher-power mmWave wireless solution, closely integrated with the mmWave track-to-train products already in production. This solution will employ higher power +55 dBmi EIRP transmitters to connect trackside nodes on a point-to-point basis at data rates in excess of 3 Gbps.

The Future Telecoms Challenge is hosted by Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) with the purpose of developing and commercialising cutting-edge telecommunications technology solutions, with a foundational role in communication networks.

The funding, through UK Research and Innovation’s £70m Technology Missions Fund will support the development of technologies that will be crucial to future telecoms networks such as mmWave and 6G.

The funding was announced by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology as part of the need to grow the UK’s technology-based communications systems, which has been identified as a critical technology area in the recent science and technology framework.

Mark Barrett, Chief Commercial Officer, Blu Wireless, commented: “We have specialist capabilities in connectivity and telecommunications, honed over a number of years in industries such as defence, rail and motorsport. Our mmWave technology delivers gigabit-speed, track-to-train connectivity for rail industry leaders such as FirstGroup in the UK and Caltrain in the US. We’re thrilled to have secured an opportunity to apply this knowledge and experience to wireless backhaul for transport applications.”