DRIVERLESS cars are among the benefits that 5G could bring to users of the next generation of mobile communication technology, business leaders have been told in Basingstoke.

5G, which follows in the footsteps of 3G and 4G, proved to be a hot topic at a networking event held at The Innovation Centre on Basing View, which attracted industry leaders from the likes of the UK Space Agency, Sony Europe, Vodafone, Airbus Defence and Space, Thales and Motorola Solutions UK.

It was organised by the SETsquared Partnership, which launched its Basing View incubation hub in December after Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council awarded a £100,000 grant to the scheme.

The partnership brings together Bath, Bristol, Exeter and Southampton universities, along with Surrey, which is home to the 5G Innovation Centre – the first in the world – to test 5G technology.

5G will run hundreds of times faster than 3G and 4G and will be capable of handling the increasing demand for mobile data.

Keith Robson, chief operations officer of the 5G Innovation Centre, which will open in September, introduced the speakers.

These were Professor Stephen Temple, technical secretary to the Technical Advisory Board, at the centre, along with Gerry Foster, 5G systems architect and innovation gateway senior technical project manager.

Also speaking was Dr Mike Short vice-president of Telefonica Europe, the Spanish parent company of British telecommunications and internet services provider O2.

Dr Short, who is also a board director of the Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “One of the key reasons why we are involved with the 5G Innovation Centre is that it’s important that we understand our future.

“We are looking to grow the market and not just stand still.

“One of the areas that excites us about the 5G Innovation Centre is that it has brought together different disciplines.

“When we think about some of the companies involved, some of which are based in this area, like Sony, they are going to help open up new markets.

“When we talk to them we find that we can understand some of the things they would like to do, which is done best in the neutral zone that we have here.

“It’s also best to do it perhaps in a demonstrator type of way where we can start to think about different things.

“For example we see significant growth of transport – one of the things O2 is involved with is driverless cars.”

Dr Short explained that O2 is working with the Transport Research Laboratory, at Greenwich, in London which has been chosen to pilot driverless vehicles.

Among those at the event was Graeme Hobbs, chairman of Basingstoke-based Motorola Solutions UK.

He said: “The application of next generation 5G mobile offers huge potential across numerous vertical markets for ground-breaking services.

He also praised SETsquared for setting up its incubator hub here in Basingstoke and for offering 20 free places for its Entrepreneurship Programme.

Delighted with the evening, SETsquared innovation director Simon Bond said: “It was fantastic to see so many people attend the event.

“Basingstoke's technology innovation economy is really vibrant and this is reflected in the fact that all the places for the upcoming SETsquared Entrepreneurship Programme have been assigned to tech start-up entrepreneurs.”