London, UK –  Imagination Technologies (IMG.L) is joining the  5G Innovation Centre (5GIC) at the University of Surrey to collaborate with leading companies both in the UK and globally in exploring, developing and defining underlying technologies that will power the next-generation 5G mobile communications network.

Joining as a Gold Member, Imagination will invest significant resources into 5GIC over the next five years, including both people and IP platforms, to help 5GIC develop technologies that will be highly scalable and easily deployable by the widest possible semiconductor, electronics goods and service provider community. Imagination is already working with 5GIC in the development of standards relevant to 5G.

Imagination’s EVP marketing Tony King-Smith will join the 5GIC Strategic Advisory Board.

The 5GIC is a new UK-based research centre, backed by both the UK government and leading global industry players, dedicated to enabling the next generation of mobile communications. Other members of the 5GIC include major telecom service providers and mobile device manufacturers. Bringing together leading academic expertise and key industry partners in a shared vision, the 5GIC will help to define and develop the 5G infrastructure that will underpin the way we communicate, work and live our everyday lives in the future.

The next generation of mobile communication technology, 5G will be a flexible infrastructure capable of handling consumers’ increasing demands for mobile data and providing ubiquitous connectivity for emerging markets such as the Internet of Things (IoT).

Says Hossein Yassaie, CEO, Imagination: “As we enter the next wave of innovation in a truly connected world, communications must move to a fundamentally new level. Previous generations of network technology have been voice-centric, with data as an ‘add-on’. With 5G, data is at the heart of the concept. 5G will deliver more efficiency, lower power and better robustness – but also connect everything in the world of IoT. And that can no longer be limited to the cities, as a sizable deployment of IoT devices will be in rural and sparsely populated regions of the world. We look forward to working with 5GIC and partners around the world to help deliver this important global technology.”

Says Tony King-Smith, EVP marketing, Imagination: “5G must be capable of addressing the requirements of a highly connected future which will depend on state-of-the-art, efficient and highly scalable processing technologies. It is therefore a logical step for Imagination to work with leading organizations like 5GIC to help define this important standard that will be inextricably linked to our range of advanced processor IP cores and platforms.”

Says Professor Rahim Tafazolli, director of the 5GIC and Institute of Communication Systems: “We welcome the unique and valuable perspective Imagination will bring to the team at 5GIC. Imagination complements the other members, which will enable us to address not only the operator and device manufacturers but, thanks to Imagination, also the needs of the global semiconductor industry.”

About 5GIC

The 5G Innovation Centre (5GIC) at the University of Surrey is now the largest UK academic research centre dedicated to the development of the next generation of mobile and wireless communications. Bringing together leading academic expertise and key industry partners in a shared vision, the 5GIC will help to define and develop the 5G infrastructure that will underpin the way we communicate, work and live our everyday lives in the future.

The 5GIC houses 170 researchers in a purpose-built building. At the heart of the 5GIC is a state-of-the-art testbed – the only facility of its kind in the world. This equips researchers with a fully-functioning advanced 4G network which, over time, will be upgraded to a fully-fledged 5G system, enabling the development and testing of 5G prototype technologies in a real world situation. The testbed covers an area of 4km2 comprising indoor and outdoor environments and supports broadband mobile and IoT.

The 5GIC is funded by £12 million from HEFCE (the Higher Education Funding Council for England) and over £68 million co-investment from the Centre’s industry and regional partners, including the EM3 Local Enterprise Partnership. Founding members include Aircom, BBC, BT, COBHAM, EE, Fujitsu, Huawei, Rohde & Schwarz, Samsung, Telefonica and Vodafone.

About Imagination Technologies

Imagination is a global technology leader whose products touch the lives of billions of people across the globe. The company’s broad range of silicon IP (intellectual property) includes the key processing blocks needed to create the SoCs (Systems on Chips) that power all mobile, consumer and embedded electronics. Its unique software IP, infrastructure technologies and system solutions enable its customers to get to market quickly with complete and highly differentiated SoC platforms. Imagination’s licensees include many of the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturers, network operators and OEMs/ODMs who are creating some of the world’s most iconic products. See:  www.imgtec.com.

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