94 INSIDER March 2020 http://www.insider.co.ukTECH TALK: RURAL CONNECTIVITY
I
N 2020, the impacts of
digital transformation have
been witnessed across most
industries, however, the Scottish
farming sector has remained
relatively unchanged for decades.
As Professor Bob Stewart of the
recently established Scotland 5G
Centre (S5GC) points out, this
situation is not always down to
the farmers: “Over the years, rural
areas have always been the last to be
provided with mobile or broadband
connectivity. They are remote,
which makes it more difficult and
more expensive, so the business
case doesn’t always stack up for the
network providers. Part of what
we want to do with S5GC is turn
that around, so that we’re making a
special effort to roll-out 5G to rural
in a first phase of adoption.”
Announced as part of the
Government’s Programme forScotland last year, S5GC will be the
national platform for accelerating
the adoption of 5G while realising
its economic and societal potential
for all of Scotland. Led by
founding partners the University
of Strathclyde, the University of
Glasgow and the Scottish FuturesTrust, the Centre received £5.3m in
public funds last year to support its
initial programme of activity.
Dr Derek Boyd, interim director
of S5GC, says: “The Scottish
Government has recognised that 5G
offers game-changing benefits all
across Scotland. Our core objectives
with the Centre are, firstly, toensure Scotland is recognised by
global industry as a fantastic place
to develop 5G technology and
applications and, secondly, to support
the deployment and adoption of 5G
across Scotland – with a particular
emphasis on rural communities.”
A recent analysis by Deloitte, for
the Scottish Futures Trust, showed
enhanced digital capability relating
to wireless and mobile technologies
such as 4G and 5G could add £17bn
and 160,000 net new jobs to the
Scottish economy by 2035 and raise
productivity per worker by £1,600 pa.
According to the research,
which helped shape the Scottish
Government’s 5G strategy, key
sectors could benefit from 5G
technology, including healthcare,
transport, energy, public services and,
crucially, agriculture and aquaculture.
The Centre’s 5GRuralFirst
2.0: Sharing Spectrum for Rural
Communities project, one of three
main programmes of activity, aimsThe Scottish Government has
recognised that 5G offers game-
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Derek Boyd, S5GC (below)By MICHAEL FEELEYFERTILE
TIMES FOR
DIGITAL IN
THE FIELD
Above: Robots
that can collect
data on farms are
being tested