Key Facts

• Dr Andy G. Sellars is the strategic development director at the Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult.
• Heba Bevan OBE is the CEO and founder of Utterberry Ltd., focusing on AI and wireless sensor networks for major infrastructure projects.
• Dr Nick Johnson was formerly chief technical officer at ip.access, a UK-based small cell vendor now part of Mavenir.
• GSM has no clear shelf-life as it remains critical for emergency calls and remote locations.
• Security audits are conducted when new equipment is deployed into networks.
• SolarWinds software supply chain incident highlights undetectable Trojan horse type of threats.
• Software updates often compete with revenue-generating features in vendor businesses.
• Hardware capacity limits can impact the integration of newer services like 5G over existing infrastructure.
• Three monolithic telecom suppliers currently exist, with numbers declining.
• The UK has approximately 5,000 companies involved in designing and manufacturing electronic systems, including 600 in telecoms.
• A timeframe of three to five years is suggested for broader diversification efforts.
• Steve McCabe addresses support for parts of the Telecommunications (Security) Bill.
• Heba Bevan emphasizes the importance of telecom providers being liable for security on their systems.
• Chi Onwurah asks about UK capabilities in hardware and software manufacturing for telecommunications, referencing small-cell base station manufacturers around Bath and Bristol.
• Steve McCabe is chairing the committee session.
• Helen Duncan is a consultant and freelance journalist specialising in RF technology and wireless sector.
• Mike Fake is director and co-founder of Lumenisity, which has developed a new fibre optic cable technology that data travels faster on compared to conventional cables.
• £250 million allocated for research and development.
• BT invests £500 million per annum in R&D.
• Huawei's annual revenue is approximately $120 billion with an estimated R&D spend of $2 billion annually.
• Three incumbent base station manufacturing companies in the UK closed or ceased operations in the late 1990s due to mergers and acquisitions, dotcom bubble impacts, and defense sector funding removal.
• The £250 million diversification strategy is not considered sufficient to support semiconductor manufacture in the UK.
• Supporting component and subsystem manufacture based around chips would improve resilience.
• McCabe mentions the Government's spending on 5G networking run by Cambridge Wireless.
• The Northern Ireland Engineering Hub for the Royal Academy of Engineering was launched in Belfast.
• Antenna capability has been reduced due to recent company closures, highlighting a potential area for government intervention.
• Government proposes £250 million for research and development over five years.
• BT spends £500 million annually on its network infrastructure.
• There is a gap in investment from seed stage to series B, particularly affecting smaller companies.
• Doug Brake from Information Technology and Innovation Foundation testified.
• The Bill aims to make it easy and desirable for the private sector to do cyber-security well.
• There are concerns over increased compliance costs associated with the Bill.
• The statement expresses concern over China's efforts to create an indigenous semiconductor industry.
• Doug Brake worries about ORAN being seen as a quick fix for existing equipment providers rather than a long-term solution.
• There is a suggestion that international cooperation and early-stage investments are needed to drive future technology transitions.
• The decline of Lucent is attributed to unique challenges imposed by the Anglo-American economic system, systemic failures in US Government policy, and aggressive foreign industrial policies.
• Bell Labs had a strong position before its restructuring in 1984 due to steady revenue from telecom rates and a focus on broad technological change.
• There are risks associated with bandwagoning and scaling open RAN systems at scale.
• Final evidence session for the Bill.
• Next meeting is on Thursday 20 January at 11:30 am in Committee Room 14.