UK Future RAN Competition awards ~£36m to Open RAN projects

DSIT announced funding of ~£36M through the Future RAN Competition (FRANC) awarded to 14 successful applicants, matched by ~£36M of private funding to support the UK’s 5G Supply Chain Diversification Strategy.

• Main announcement:DSIT funded ~£36M to 14 projects (launched 2021) as part of FRANC, matched with ~£36M private funding; projects ran across the UK (examples: Proteus, UK 5G DU-Volution, Flex-5G) with project timelines spanning December 2021 to between mid-2023 and March 2025 and per-project DSIT funding reported (e.g., Proteus ~£3.3m, DU-Volution ~£6.1m, Best of British ~£5m).
• Context and details: The case study summarizes project outcomes and technical achievements (e.g., DU software on universal platform, AI-powered analytics, energy-efficient cloudlets/C-PON, GaN chip fabrication); it is a summary of concluded projects and closure reports, not a new funding announcement. Key partner types include telco vendors, universities, catapults, and system integrators; several projects demonstrated prototypes, live demos, and transitions into follow-on activities (for example DU-Volution continued into the Open Network Ecosystem competition).