Communications systems research is a critical area that underpins the whole future digital society and forms part of a national ambition around world-class communications systems and technology. Sustained investment in future communications systems is a vital step in achieving this ambition.
By investing in these technologies, we can reignite the UK’s status as a science and technology superpower and deliver for the next generation.
For more background information on this programme, see ‘Additional info’.
EPSRC will fund three federated and connected platforms in the future communications systems space.
Applications should include expertise or understanding across the breadth of the scope, where appropriate, to better enable the interface with the wider community. However, any programme of research does not need to encompass the whole scope.
These initial exploratory platforms will enable applicants to work flexibly in order to network with, and leverage support from, the existing communications landscape. They will also provide support for research with focus on lower technology readiness level (TRL) discovery science which should gear towards translation to high TRL challenges. Over three years, EPSRC is asking applicants to:
- discover the pipeline of ideas and solutions to problems that we cannot yet solve
- develop those technologies and emergent ideas that are not yet ready for market
- exploit routes for deployment of technologies that are ready.
This will inform EPSRC to explore opportunities for further investment in future communications systems similar to the quantum technology hubs, if funding enables.
You must align to business and government needs in the areas and seek to connect with the existing funding landscape, where appropriate. This includes UK Research and Innovation investments such as:
- hubs
- centres for doctoral training
- innovation knowledge centres, institutes and facilities.
In addition, this also includes working closely with the recent Department for Media, Culture and Sport (DMCS) investment and the UK Telecoms Innovation Network (UKTIN), to ensure that work is complementary.
UKTIN is an information and ideas hub for industry and academics looking to access funding for research and development testing facilities and opportunities to collaborate on developing new mobile and broadband technology.
The three successful platforms must also endeavour to connect with the recent series of DCMS funding in this space (which includes UKTIN) as part of a broader UK programme. This will help to enable a coordinated approach and will support the community to reorient towards UK priority areas.
Applications will be invited covering one of the core research themes outlined below. Each consortium will be a multi-university or institution consortium, with an identified lead university, and should have expertise in the areas defined, but we recognise that the initial programme of research cannot cover all of this.
Research areas
Network of networks
This includes early-stage validation of technology and proof of concept or application, across three broad areas:
- integration and optimisation across terrestrial (wired, small cells and cell-free) and satellite (non-terrestrial networks, high-altitude platform systems (HAPS) and unmanned aerial vehicles). This will include research around end-to-end connectivity (including wireless, wired, satellite and optical interconnections and coordinating interfaces), control layer and management protocols
- physical system architectures, network interoperability and integration. This could include research across new architectures for network-compute sensing, softwarisation, new interfaces for open radio access networks (RAN) and open networks
- associated new materials, devices and sensors that enable network to network architecture.
Wireless and wired systems and spectrum
This includes three broad areas:
- radio frequency engineering, covering open RAN and diversification, massive multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) network to software as well as the antenna and receivers. This will include:
- materials up to the device level
- antenna technology
- reconfigurable intelligent surfaces
- cell-free access networks
- mmWave, THz and optical wireless and extreme densification
- spectrum innovation and integration, towards spectrum abundance in terms of efficiency, management and policy. This will include research around intelligent spectrum management and spectrum agile technology, as well as optical wireless integration
- optical and photonics, as applied to communications networks. This will include research around hollow-core fibre and fibre optics, photonics, free space optics and quantum communications.
Cloud and distributed computing
This includes four broad areas:
- cloud, fog and edge computing, operations and optimisation. This will include research around the evolution of analogue computing, such as neuromorphic, as well as aspects of the future of internet infrastructure
- exploration of the software-hardware (such as materials, devices and sensors) interface
- data science and algorithms, control layers and management protocols
- artificial intelligence and machine learning for network design, routing and operation.
Themes
Each platform should also cover some or all of the following cross-cutting themes, as appropriate:
- security, resilience and trust:
- resilience of power systems (capacity planning)
- resilience and reliability of non-terrestrial (inter-satellite, inter-flying platforms, satellite-to-ground, flying platforms-ground and underwater) communications
- verifiability and trust of network intelligence, native security, physical layer and hardware security
- open networking: interoperability and integration of open network solutions and multi-vendor architectures
- accessibility and human-centric aspects of communications: coverage and quality of access and a consideration of ethics, societal, economic and political impact
- sustainability: end-to-end energy efficiency, energy harvesting, network redundancy and resilience of power systems (capacity planning).
We would expect funded platforms to have a plan for creation, filing and UK retention of intellectual property. In addition, applicants should consider how to transform generated intellectual property into impact on the UK research ecosystem.
You will also be required to consider UK skills needs as part of your proposal.
This could include training and upskilling as well as wider consideration of the ecosystem, through translation throughout supply chain, across TRLs and layers, and patent filing and retention of intellectual property.
As EPSRC is not providing studentship funding as part of this opportunity, applicants should consider how best to leverage each university’s doctoral training partnership allocation, and how to work with businesses to access ICASE studentships, where appropriate.
Each platform will:
- coordinate with the existing research community and the other funded platforms
- enable impact of existing outcomes of research
- drive the push of emergent ideas and technology towards market
- address user-inspired, high TRL challenges with lower TRL research.
Your application should cover:
- research team: who will be involved and what is their expertise?
- vision: what is the scope of the hub research and innovation programme?
- impact and commercialisation: how will you push emergent technology and ideas towards market?
- engagement: how will you engage with the wider landscape? This should not be a list of potential partners, but rather an engagement plan, and should address international collaboration and trusted research
- governance: how would the hub be governed, and how would it coordinate with other hubs?
Partnerships
EPSRC is anticipating that applications to this opportunity will be multi-institutional. In order to facilitate the creation of new partnerships outside of your institution for this funding opportunity, we have set up a web portal for any individual wishing to be involved.
Access the partnerships portal.
If you wish to engage in the application process as an academic, please select the appropriate option within the portal. You will then be able to outline your areas of expertise and the core research theme you are able to contribute to. This will enable other interested parties to contact you through the portal.
EPSRC will be covering how to use this portal at the webinar.
EPSRC is trialling a new method of industrial engagement through this scheme which will simplify the application process. At this stage, we do not require project partner letters of support and any potential non-academic partners do not need to be named in your application. However, we do still expect you to outline how you plan to engage with the academic and non-academic community more broadly within your engagement plan.
We will instead be asking potential partners to register interest through the portal above. The list of potential industrial partners will then be provided to the successful academic consortium upon award of the funding. This is to encourage non-standard partners such as small and medium enterprises, in addition to larger organisations who typically engage with EPSRC funding.
This does not restrict you from discussing potential collaborations with industrial partners and you will still be able to include partners who are not part of the list EPSRC provide upon award of the funding.
Webinar
We are holding a webinar on 27 October 2022, 11am to 12:30pm for prospective applicants to this funding opportunity. If you would like to attend please register by 26 October 2022 at midday. A recording of the webinar will be made available afterwards for anyone who cannot attend. A direct link to this will be added to the partnerships portal.
Register to attend the webinar.
For more information about the webinar, email: bethany.turner@epsrc.ukri.org.
Funding available
EPSRC will fund three hubs. The full economic cost of each hub can be up to £2.5 million. EPSRC will fund 80% of the full economic cost.
This budget is indicative and subject to final budgetary allocations.
Equipment over £10,000 in value (including VAT) is not available through this opportunity. Smaller items of equipment (individually under £10,000) should be in the ‘directly incurred – other costs’ heading in your Joint Electronic Submission (Je-S) system application.
Read EPSRC’s approach to equipment funding.
Duration
Projects can have a duration of up to 3 years.
Responsible innovation
You are expected to work within the EPSRC framework for responsible innovation.
International collaboration
Applicants planning to include international collaborators on their proposal should visit Trusted Research for guidance on getting the most out of international collaboration while protecting intellectual property, sensitive research and personal information.
