A collaborative approach to creating

networks of the future

Sundeep BhandariStrategy Manager – Digital Sector

+44 7855 136 570

sundeep.bhandari@npl.co.uk

The opportunity

Talk overview

Who are NPL and what do we do?

The challenges

One possible approach

World leading NMI, public corporation

~ 400 laboratories, 36,000m2 state of the art facilities

1000+ staff, 750+ scientists

BEIS’s largest science and technology asset

2500 academic and industrial partners

The UK’s National Measurement Institute

Measurement is everywhere

We develop and make available primary

standards (the ultimate reference points for

measurements), ensuring they are internationally

accepted

We carry out R&D to prepare for measurements

that will be needed in the future

Multidisciplinary CR&D, consultancy, technical

and measurement services for public and private

sectors

Paradigm shifts everywhere

DLT, NPLTime®

Quantum, mm Wave

Smart Antenna

Data & Algo standards

Heritage and legacy

Public Transport Public Safety

Manufacturing

Healthcare

Enterainment

CURRENT OPERATOR + 5G ADDRESSABLE

REVENUES

INCREMENTAL $582BN SPLIT BY INDUSTRY

(2026)

2016 2018

$bn

2020

+20%Industry potential to

add 20%+ new

revenues by 2026

2022 2024

Energy &

Utilities

19%

$582Bn2026 Operator addressable

5G digitalization revenues 17%

13%13%

13%

11%

Financial Services

Automotive

8%

Media &

5%

New

addre

ssable

5G

en

ab

led

revenues

Curr

ent

opera

tor

serv

ice r

evenues

Sources: Ericsson, Arthur D. Little, World Economic Forum & tmforum

2026

The opportunity is great - $582Bn as others begin to transform

MASSIVE MACHINE

TYPE COMMUNICATIONS

ENHANCED MOBILE

BROADBAND

Gigabytes in a second

3D video, UHD screens

Work and play in the cloud

Augmented reality

Industry automation

Self Driving Car

Mission critical application

e.g. remote robotic surgery

ULTRA-RELIABLE AND LOW

LATENCY COMMUNICATIONS

Smart City

Smart Home/Building

Future

NetworksDEMANDS BUSINESS

TRANSFORMATION,

NOT JUST NEW

TECHNOLOGY

Sources: ITU & tmforum

ECOSYSTEM

ENABLER

CONNECTIVITY PROVIDER

5G demands business transformation, not just new technology

Example – a future business model?

Source: dailymail.co.uk

The converged and

automated future network

is a critical infrastructure

issue that needs to be

collectively addressed at

the appropriate scale

Not a question that can

be addressed as a pure

academic challenge, nor

by using small-scale

models

The flexibility & complexity

means that NOBODY knows

how next generation networks

will be built and operated

Lack of visibility of

academic research activity

and ability to accelerate it

New technologies that

can unpick existing

value chains and

operational paradigms –

e.g. AI/ML

Developing &

deploying new

technologies &

standards at pace

Lack of scale facility

for testing massive

distributed network

software prior to

deployment

Proliferation of

network

aware/impacting

devices and services

- IoT/M2M, AI/ML

Increasing cyber-

security threats to

critical national

infrastructure and

customer data

New Network Concepts

Virtual Infrastructure

Internet of Things

Wireless Mobility Optical Technologies

Cloud / Data Centre

Future Broadband Artificial Intelligence

Security

There are some challenges we need to overcome

What legacy will we leave?

Access

Connectivity

Optical Layer

Packet Layer

Network Function Software

Network Orchestration Software

Cyber

Security

NFV/SDN

& Optical

Platforms

Network

Reference

Models

Live

Networks

Gateway

Converged Scale Operations

Applications & Services

Integrated Facility

Ultrafast

Testbed

Quantum

Innovation

Platform

World-leading Capabilities

Accelerated Speed

to Market

Patents & Value Creation

Start-ups and New Partners

New Skills

Generation

Driving Global Standards

Least-Cost

Solutions

Access to World

Leading Talent

Independently owned &

operated

National scale platform

>200 staff

National converged digital

infrastructure

Downstream to standards

& real-world at pace

Connect national assets

>20Tbit/s capacity

Combine ALL

emerging tech together,

at scale

Connect industry

facilities

An International Centre of

Excellence

The FNRC initiative

[VIRTUAL]

FNRC

[PHYSICAL]

SECURITY & RESILIENCE

GOVERNANCE, OPERATIONS, ROADMAPPING & STRATEGY

MULTI-OPERATOR REFERENCE NETWORKS

DATA CENTRES

PHYSICAL 2, 3, x

VENDORS

5GT&T

ACADEMIA/RTO

R&DUK5GUSE CASE TEST BEDS (CCAV, UCC, RCC, x, y, z….)END USERS, VERTICALS, SME’s

SKILLS, PRODUCTIVITY, EFFICIENCY,

GROWTH

NEW SOFTWARE INDUSTRY

ACCELERATED TRANSLATION

THROUGH TRL’s

NEW PRODUCTS & SERVICES

CREATE & DEVELOP SUPPLY CHAIN

INTEGRATING NEW & EXISTING ASSETS TO CREATE A NATIONAL

SCALE TEST NETWORK FOR FUTURE COMMUNICATIONS

TECHNOLOGIES

POLICY & REGULATION

Enhanced innovation through collaboration

AccessConnectivityOptical LayerPacket Layer

Network Function Software

Network Orchestration

SoftwareCyb

er

Secu

rity

NFV

/SD

N &

Opti

cal

Platf

orm

sNetw

ork

Refer

ence

Mod

els

Live

Netw

orks

Gate

way

Converged Scale Operations

Applications & Services

Integrated

Facility

Ultraf

ast

Test

bed

Quan

tum

Innov

ation

Platf

orm

Existing

facilities

Operators

Data centre

Other

Verticals &

SMEs

Vendors Industry forums

Data

centre x

Distributed physical and virtual structure

Research

Development

VV&T

1-3

Activity TRL Focus

3-7

7-9

Emphasis on ground-breaking world-class research at scale that has the potential to

significantly reshape the telecoms network

landscape. Early understanding of downstream impact

Universities, start-ups, SME’s

and large industry.

Engagement

Testing primarily undertaken by

network operators

and major equipment and software

vendors.

Emphasis on developments that would have a significant impact at scale and where

standards development is a priority.

Credibility and Capability of technology established.

Emphasis on Deployment readiness, Robustness and core Hygiene Factors

Blue Sky and Next

Gen networks

Next Gen and

Todays World

Outline themes of work

‘White-box’ hardware development

Software development

Automation – AI & ML at scale

New data centre paradigms

New technologies that will disrupt, not destroy

VV&T to destruction

Multidisciplinary talent development and retention

Open access innovation platform

accelerated development and deployment of everything

from ‘chips to clicks’ Network Control Plane Security

Orchestration

Distributed Infrastructure

Management

DevOps for Networks

Operations Automation

1-10Gbps peak data rate PER

USER

Sub millisecond round trip delay

Over 10,000 Gbps/km density

Over 1m devices per km2

50% energy reduction!

Advantages of collaboration

What legacy will we leave?

Developing and de-risking future networks

National scale platform

Future core networks

Interoperability across systems and operators

Developing a new ecosystem

Stimulate innovation

Develop new business models

and new use cases

Ensure impartiality and

confidentiality

Embedding measurement by

default

A place to develop the multidisciplinary

ICT talent of the future

Creating a cross-industry, world leading CR&D test environment for fixed and

mobile networks with a focus on accelerating innovation, development and

deployment for the benefit of all.

Any questions?

The National Physical Laboratory is operated by NPL

Management Ltd, a wholly-owned company of the

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

(BEIS).

Sundeep Bhandari

M: +44 7855 136 570

E: sundeep.bhandari@npl.co.uk

With thanks to our supporting partners: