Overview
This Contracts for Innovation (CfI) competition, delivered by Innovate UK and funded by DSIT, supports the development of near-term, testable solutions in advanced connectivity technologies.
The focus is on deploying prototypes and demonstrators in real-world environments, addressing two key UK priorities: secure and resilient networks, and sustainable networks. Projects must show a clear route to adoption, with measurable improvements in network performance such as reliability, security, energy efficiency, or spectrum use.
This competition forms part of the UK’s broader Advanced Connectivity Technologies (ACT) R&D Programme, designed to strengthen the UK’s position in global telecoms innovation and accelerate commercialisation of emerging technologies.
Scope
The aim of this competition is to develop near-term, testable solutions that advance UK capability in the 2 Grand Challenge areas of: Secure and Resilient Networks and Sustainable Networks. Projects will deliver deployable prototypes or demonstrators on UK testbeds and in real-world environments.
Grand Challenge 1: Secure and Resilient Networks
Innovators are invited to develop next generation technologies that strengthen the resilience, security, and autonomy of UK communications networks. Solutions should leverage UK strengths in advanced Radio Frequency (RF), optical wireless, AI native network management, compound semiconductors, and secure by design architectures. Proposals should demonstrate achievable near term impact while supporting long term evolution toward 6G class networks.
Theme 1: AI Enabled Network Resilience and Automation
Theme 2: Seamless Integration of Terrestrial and Non‑Terrestrial Networks (NTN)
Grand Challenge 2: Sustainable Networks
The competition supports innovations that reduce the environmental impact of future communication networks while improving performance. Technologies may include compound semiconductors, photonics, energy efficient RF components, and advanced network automation to reduce operational and embodied energy across infrastructure.
Theme 1: Reducing Energy Use in Critical Network Components
Theme 2: Improving Spectrum Efficiency and Fair Access
Projects must include hardware and software elements where relevant, define clear use cases, and demonstrate a credible route to market.
Key themes and topics
Grand Challenge 1: Secure and Resilient Networks
Theme 1: AI‑Enabled Network Resilience and Automation
This theme focuses on AI driven tools that improve the reliability of UK networks predicting faults, detecting anomalies, optimising performance, and orchestrating rapid recovery. Approaches may incorporate intent based automation, semantic communications, digital twins, distributed edge AI compute, or integrated sensing and communications to enhance network awareness. Supporting technologies could include RF processors, optical switching or chiplet base accelerators for real time decision making. Innovations that improve spectrum security by detecting and reducing harmful interference - such as spoofing and jamming would also be in scope.
Theme 2: Seamless Integration of Terrestrial and Non‑Terrestrial Networks (NTN)
This theme seeks innovations that deliver smooth, consistent connectivity across terrestrial, satellite and aerial networks. Opportunities include terrestrial and non-terrestrial network convergence, advanced handover mechanisms, unified management or control layers, and multi‑domain resource orchestration. Relevant enabling technologies include steerable and metamaterial antennas, free space optical links, optical or photonic transceivers, inter‑satellite link technologies, and software defined, intent based network control.
Grand Challenge 2: Sustainable Networks
Theme 1: Reducing Energy Use in Critical Network Components
This theme targets substantial reductions in the energy consumption of base stations, transport networks, and edge infrastructure. Solutions may include high efficiency compound semiconductor devices, such as Gallium Nitride (GaN), Gallium Arsenide (GaAs), Indium Phosphide (InP), photonic switching, to reduce optical losses, advanced packaging and thermal management. Approaches that cut per‑bit energy use and reduce active‑component duty cycles are encouraged.
Theme 2: Improving Spectrum Efficiency and Fair Access
This theme focuses on technologies that increase spectral efficiency and improve access to finite spectrum resources. Potential approaches include dynamic sharing, interference resilient radios, advanced modulation or coding, RF processing innovations, and cell free or distributed Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) architectures. Supporting technologies may include adaptive antennas, metamaterials, novel waveform design, or hybrid (RF and optical) systems that relieve congestion and enhance spectral reuse.
Project duration
3 to 12 months
Must start by 1 September 2026
End by 31 August 2027
Award value
Total costs between £200,000 and £2,000,000, inclusive of VAT
Funding rates
100% funded
Eligibility criteria
- Projects must be led by a UK registered organisation of any size
- Contracts will be awarded to a single legal entity only
- Subcontractors can be used for specialist skills and can include businesses, research organisations, research and technology organisations (RTOs), or third sector organisations (charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups)
- Organisations must declare VAT status before entering eligible project costs
- If VAT registered, eligible project costs must be entered exclusive of VAT, and total project costs inclusive of VAT must not exceed £2 million
- If not VAT registered, eligible project costs must be entered exclusive of VAT, and total project costs must not exceed £2 million
Your application must have at least 50% of the contract value attributed directly and exclusively to R&D services, including solution exploration and design. R&D can also include prototyping and field-testing the product or service
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