Government doubles funding for the internet of things

The government is to double the amount of funding it invests in research for the development of the internet of things. An additional £45m will be made available to boost research for technologies that connect a range of everyday devices to the internet.

Speaking at the CeBIT 2014 trade fair in Hanover on 10 March, Prime Minister David Cameron said that getting everyday objects talking to one another to simplify daily life “could turn the internet of things from a slogan to a fact… a hugely transformative development, a way of boosting productivity, of keeping us healthier, making transport more efficient, reducing energy needs, tackling climate change.”

The Prime Minister said that the world was on the brink of a new industrial revolution and he wanted the UK and Germany to lead it, with British ingenuity in software, services and design, together with German excellence in engineering and industrial manufacturing.

He set out 3 specific areas where the UK wants to work with Germany:

1. 5G – faster internet quick enough to download a full length feature film in less than a second.
2. Internet of things
3. Strengthening the EU’s digital single market

The Prime Minister unveiled a package of measures to achieve this, including:

• £45m funding for research in areas linked to the ‘internet of things’, taking total pot available to £73m
• A new spectrum strategy that aims to double the economic benefits of spectrum to £100bn by 2025
• A new ‘innovation one stop shop’ within UKTI for securing science and innovation investment from large international funds and corporate companies
• A review by government’s chief scientific adviser to identify how we can exploit potential in this area
• £1m ‘European Internet of Things’ grant fund to support companies who want to exploit these new opportunities
• New collaboration to develop 5G between the University of Dresden, King’s College University in London and the University of Surrey

The UK’s innovation and technology sector is worth £58bn to the UK economy and employs 1.3 million people. In his Budget on 29 March, the Chancellor announced £42m funding for a new Alan Turing Institute for research on big data and algorithms, together with funding for 20 doctoral research centres.

Caroline Roberts, Director of Public Affairs, DMA