FAQs

The funding competition will be open to businesses and organisations in the Belfast Region City Deal council areas: Antrim and Newtownabbey, Ards and North Down, Belfast, Lisburn and Castlereagh, Mid and East Antrim, and Newry, Mourne and Down.

Competition applicants must be the solution user. Although users may partner with suppliers, suppliers can not apply on behalf of their customers.

The funding aims to support projects which make use of 5G and advanced wireless mobile communications technology to develop and implement use cases which deliver outcomes in the Belfast Region area.

Full competition details and criteria will be published when the competition opens in August 2024.

Applications

The funding competition will be open to businesses and organisations in the Belfast Region City Deal council areas: Antrim and Newtownabbey, Ards and North Down, Belfast, Lisburn and Castlereagh, Mid and East Antrim, and Newry, Mourne and Down.

Competition applicants must be the solution user. Although users may be partnered with suppliers, suppliers may not apply on behalf of their customers.

The funding will aim to support projects which make use of 5G or other advanced wireless mobile communications technology to develop and implement use cases which deliver outcomes and drive economic growth in the Belfast Region area.

Funding

We envisage that applicants will be able to apply for grants of up to £100,000 each. 

The grant funding must be spent before the end of March 2025. 

We envisage that the competition’s grants will fund the capital costs of operational uses cases for 5G and advanced wireless connectivity. The competition will not fund trials; it is for the implementation of live solutions in a real-world setting.

Timeline

• Mid-August 2024: Competition opens
• September 2024: Competition closes
• October 2024: Projects commence
• March 2025: Completion of projects

Competition

We are currently finalising the details of the 5G Funding Competition, so there is an opportunity to help inform that by giving us your ideas about how you would use grant funding to advance your 5G projects.

Full competition details and criteria will be published when the competition opens in August 2024.

Engagement sessions for applicants

We plan to hold engagement sessions with potential applicants and suppliers to better understand the types of projects that could be funded.

We will also provide successful applicants with support in the delivery of their use cases.

How to register your interest

Complete our registration form if you're interesting in applying to the competition. If you already have a use case idea, tell us a little about your proposal.

More information

The Belfast 5G Innovation Region programme and funding competition is funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) as part of their UK 5G Innovation Regions programme. 

The UK 5G Innovation Regions programme aims to:

• drive innovative applications powered by 5G across key industry sectors;
• deliver direct economic benefits eg. productivity gains, cost savings, welfare improvements etc. through projects and use cases;
• accelerate commercial investment in 5G by aggregating and demonstrating demand through projects and use cases for advanced wireless technologies, helping to build the business case for commercial investment; and
• foster the 5G ecosystem.

DSIT has outlined key industry sectors that can benefit from 5G: public services (including smart communities applications); rural industries (including agri-tech and food production); transport and logistics; advanced manufacturing; and creative industries.

Find out more about 5G use cases in key industry sectors on the UK Telecoms Innovation Network website. 

Find out more about the Belfast 5G Innovation Region programme.

Privacy statement

Belfast City Council is the Data Controller under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), and the UK Data Protection Act 2018, for the personal data gathered for the purposes of a survey regarding an expression of interest and a funding competition for the Belfast 5G Innovation Region programme.

The Council must have a valid lawful basis under UK GDPR to process your personal data and accepts that you are providing your personal data based on consent and are positively agreeing for the council to hold and further use it. Additionally, the Council lawful basis for processing is for a Public Task for the exercise of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority found in the UK GDPR Article 6 (e).

Why are you processing my personal information? 

• To enable the Council to administer and manage expressions of interest in the programme and a funding competition. 
• To ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
• The survey is aimed at a business/industry audience.

What categories of personal data are you processing? 

Personal Information: Name, email address, organisation and business name and job role.

Where do you get my personal data from? 

We get personal data from you when you complete the survey and submit an expression of interest.

Do you share my personal data with anyone else? 

Information may be shared internally among officers who are involved in the project and where necessary between internal council departments with the purpose of supporting an effective delivery of service.

As part of the analysis and reporting, we may share written comments and aggregated results with our Belfast 5G Innovation Region council partners (Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council, Ards and North Down Borough Council, Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council, Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, and Newry, Mourne and Down District Council) and consultants (Spirit Public Sector and Digital Catapult) appointed by the Council to assist with the delivery of the Belfast 5G Innovation Region programme.

Your personal data will not be shared or disclosed to any other organisation without your consent or unless the law permits or places an obligation on us to do so and no information or comments will be published in the public domain.

How long will you keep my personal data for? 

Your personal data is held by the Council(s) in a safe and secure manner and in line with their Council’s Records Retention and Disposal Schedule.

If you have any queries regarding the processing of your personal data, please email policy@belfastcity.gov.uk(External link).  If you wish to contact the Council’s Data Protection Officer, please write to Belfast City Council, City Hall, Belfast BT1 5GS or send an email to dataprotection@belfastcity.gov.uk