The body established to accelerate the benefits of 5G connectivity in the West Midlands, WM5G has won the Smart City Initiative Award at the Connected Britain Awards 2021, in recognition of its development and roll-out of a range 5G-enabled projects to discover innovative transport solutions across the Midlands region.

WM5G supports 14 revolutionary 5G-enabled road and rail transport projects, including the UK’s first 5G connected tram and 5G Road Sensor Network, with both projects demonstrating 5G’s ability to increase operational efficiency and reduce congestion and pollution across the region by harnessing transport data.

By the end of 2021, WM5G will have concluded many of these trials, with proof points ready to implement into a Smart City network. Working closely with Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), WM5G established Smart City capabilities across the transport sector to deliver solutions ready for real-world implementation.

Mark Stansfeld, Board Chair at WM5G said, “It is always a pleasure to see the hard work of our teams in the transport sector recognised at the Connected Britain awards. The 14 projects have a genuinely transformative impact in enhancing and improving both the operation and user experience of the region’s transport network, using the power of 5G. We continue to work collaboratively with our partners to ensure the benefits of 5G are recognised and deliver sustainable solutions for the future.

“Our work is still very much underway, and we now must focus on how we can work together with organisations and local communities to overcome future obstacles in the deployment of 5G and other digital connectivity solutions. We want to unlock the benefits advanced digital connectivity solutions can deliver to citizens, communities and companies across the UK.”

(Picture – West Midlands 5G)