Huawei and telecom operator BT Group announced a £25 million research group at the University of Cambridge to focus on projects relating to photonics, digital and access network infrastructure and media technologies.
Experts from the BT Labs, the Huawei R&D Team and academics from the University of Cambridge will explore new technologies focusing on reducing the cost of network infrastructure and boosting operational performance.
The funding will be used to support ‘blue skies’ research projects being progressed by postgraduate students at the University which are focused on generating benefits for industry and society at large. All these projects will be assessed by an Academic Advisory Board intended to be made up of senior representatives from each of the parties.
The research and collaboration team – expected to be based at the University’s Maxwell Centre – will further strengthen the area’s position as one of the leading technology hubs in Europe.
The group is expected to kick off research activity in the first half of 2018 with five to ten researchers from BT and Huawei working alongside their University collaborators.
“BT currently invests around £500m every year in R&D, and over the last ten years we’ve been the third biggest contributor to the UK’s R&D efforts,” said Gavin Patterson, BT Group Chief Executive.
“Huawei will continue to invest and form partnerships to build out future infrastructure. We have over 80,000 people in research and development globally, working with customers, universities and industry bodies,” said Ken Hu, rotating CEO of Huawei.
Researchers at the BT Labs in Adastral Park recently collaborated with the University’s Cavendish Lab on a project to assess the potential theoretical speeds that can be delivered over the UK’s access network infrastructure.
Huawei and the University of Cambridge have been working together for seven years on range of research projects including media, communications and other technologies.
