Driving Advanced Wireless Innovation in Ayrshire via the 5GIR Programme

By Steve Smith, Principal Consultant at FarrPoint

Background

FarrPoint offered technical consultancy, use case development, and strategic guidance to help the Ayrshire consortium, comprising East, North, and South Ayrshire Councils, achieve their vision of becoming the UK's leading hub for manufacturing-focused 5G innovation.

The Challenge

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology's 5GIR programme aims to help councils advance wireless technologies within the UK’s economy and society by 2030. Their initiative focused on scaling 5G use cases across the UK to drive economic growth, technological progress, and societal benefits.

After helping Ayrshire secure £3.8m funding through the bid process, FarrPoint were chosen to continue to assist Ayrshire as a technical delivery partner, leveraging existing experience with public sector clients and a deep understanding of the 5GIR pilot’s aims and objectives.

What Did FarrPoint Deliver?

FarrPoint provided comprehensive support throughout the successful bid process, helping position Ayrshire as a leading hub for 5G innovation, with a focus on sectors including process manufacturing, aerospace, education and tourism.

FarrPoint’s involvement has continued throughout the delivery phase, working with the Ayrshire consortium, technology partners and regional stakeholders to translate the vision outlined in the application into a successful and sustainable programme for the Ayrshire Region. This included strategic, technical, and communications support, with key deliverables throughout the project.

These deliverables included:

• Support refining Ayrshire's vision as a 5G manufacturing leader, aligned projects with DSIT priorities and provided technical input for a strong business case and delivery roadmap.
• Facilitated workshops to identify and prioritise 5G and other advanced wireless use cases, assessing their viability and ensuring alignment with regional growth objectives and long-term sustainability. These use cases focused on driving innovation and advancing key regional sectors.
• Provided technical advice on 5G deployment, infrastructure, and cost projections while supporting governance frameworks and financial management plans for sustainable implementation.
• Created a benefits realisation and evaluation framework to assess impacts and developed a sustainability report on the commercial viability of use cases and future 5G development.
• Delivered an assessment of the region’s digital connectivity, reviewing its performance across key infrastructure and adoption indicators, and identifying areas for improvement. Our findings led to a series of recommendations and actionable next steps for local stakeholders.
• Provided marketing support to amplify project’s reach and ensure consistent messaging by creating videos, design templates, infographics and other materials.

FarrPoint also supported the Ayrshire consortium with their 5GIR funding extension bid, alongside work to help integrate and align the 5GIR programme into wider regional strategies such as the Regional Economic Strategy and Ayrshire Growth Deal to provide a lasting legacy from the programme that can be built upon in future.

Want to Hear More?

By partnering with FarrPoint, Ayrshire has developed a strategic roadmap, ensuring the long-term success of its 5G initiatives. Get in touch to explore how FarrPoint can support your organisation in leveraging advanced wireless technologies for innovation and growth.