A part of the Belfast 5G Innovation Region programme, Belfast City Council is launching a 5G funding competition in early summer 2025 to support local businesses and industries to harness the power of 5G and digital technologies to deliver enhanced operations and services.

Businesses and organisations in the Belfast Region can apply for grants of between £50,000 and £100,000 to develop innovative 5G projects and use cases to deliver economic, social, and environmental impacts.

Advanced wireless networks, such as 5G, are key to driving economic growth and innovation across a range of industry sectors including health, manufacturing, transport and logistics, creative industries, and public services.

5G offers faster speeds, lower latency, higher capacity, increased flexibility, and increased reliability – supporting a range of digital technologies such as automation, IoT, AI, robotics, and immersive applications.

Find out more about the benefits and opportunities of 5G in our NI 5G Adoption Toolkit.

Competition details

Full eligibility criteria, guidance notes and application form will be published in early summer 2025.

Timeline

  • Competition opens: Early summer 2025
  • Online briefing event: Early summer 2025
  • Project delivery and grant funding period: Late Summer 2025 – March 2026
  • Project completion: 31 March 2026

Eligibility

The competition will be open to:

  • businesses and organisations with a business address and operations in the Belfast Region City Deal council areas: Antrim and Newtownabbey, Ards and North Down, Belfast, Lisburn and Castlereagh, Mid and East Antrim, and Newry, Mourne and Down;
  • private sector, public sector, academia, RTO, non-profit and charitable sectors; and
  • all industry sectors.

Projects must be delivered in the Belfast Region City Deal area.

Funding

  • Businesses and organisations can apply for grants of between £50,000 and £100,000 of capital funding.
  • Applicants must provide 30% match funding (including in-kind contributions).
  • All grant funded activities must be completed by 31 March 2026.

Project requirements

Proposals should:

  • demonstrate one or more use cases for 5G and/or other advanced wireless connectivity;
  • aim to solve real-world issues such as delivering improvements to existing business activities, processes or operations;
  • deliver use cases in a real-world setting (testbeds, trials and research will not be funded);
  • drive economic growth in the Belfast region;
  • deliver economic, social, and/or environmental impacts such as cost savings, productivity gains, efficiencies, welfare improvements etc; and
  • demonstrate how the project will be commercially sustainable beyond the funding period.

Example 5G use cases

The Belfast 5G Innovation Region programme has funded seven 5G projects to date:

  • 5G Port – Belfast Harbour is using private 5G to accelerate the digitalisation of port operations including automatic bulk freight handling, safety improvements, air quality monitoring and in-car connectivity for Belfast Harbour Police and port staff.
  • 5G Smart Logistics Hub – Logistics company Manfreight is using 5G connectivity and digital technologies to enhance its chilled distribution hub operations at Belfast Harbour by optimising the movement and storage of trailers and product across its warehouse facility.
  • 5G Film Anywhere – Ulster University and Studio Ulster are using 5G to accelerate screen production processes in the film and TV industry.
  • 5G Virtual Reality – Immersive tech studio Retinize is harnessing 5G to enhance its Animotive virtual reality platform, bringing advanced motion capture technology to educational institutions and production companies.
  • 5G Smart Trailer Yard – Stena Line is using 5G and digital technologies to deliver more efficient operations at its Belfast Harbour based freight trailer yard.
  • 5G Construction – Queen’s University is harnessing 5G, Building Information Modelling, Digital Twin technology and Augmented Reality to support the design and construction of its Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre.
  • 5G Transport – Translink is using the public 5G network to enable enhanced operations and network planning along its Glider bus routes and at Grand Central Station.

For more 5G use case ideas in industries such as health and social care, transport and logistics, manufacturing, and agriculture, visit the UK Telecoms Innovation Network website.

More information

For more information, contact Belfast City Council’s City Innovation Office by emailing smartbelfast@belfastcity.gov.uk

The Belfast 5GIR programme is funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology as part of their UK 5G Innovation Regions programme which aims to drive economic growth and innovation by unlocking the opportunities presented by advanced wireless connectivity and digital technologies.