Smart and Connected Social Places: 5G Innovation Region

In November 2023, Glasgow City Region was named as one of ten successful 5G Innovation Regions to share funding of £36 million from the UK Government for a range of ambitious projects.

In March 2025, the Region secured a one-year extension and further funding of £7 million, shared with other 5G Innovation Regions.

This funding was used to create the Smart and Connected Social Places (SCSP) programme, with a focus on keeping people safe, well and socially connected in their homes and local communities.

The programme’s overall objectives were to:

  • Drive economic growth across Glasgow City Region by supporting places to adopt wireless technologies.
  • Accelerate commercial investment in 5G and other advanced wireless technologies.
  • Foster the 5G ecosystem, enabling “learning by doing” by trialling and demonstrating connected solutions.

Phase One

Phase one of the SCSP programme consisted of:

  • Four core projects, all underpinned by the Asset Based Connectivity project:
    • Smart Social Assets
    • Connected Care & Wellbeing
    • Net Zero Social Assets
    • Data Aggregation & Business Intelligence
  • and an Innovation Fund launched in August 2024, which provided short-term project funding to small and medium enterprises and third sector organisations.

Phase Two

Building on the success and learning from the first phase, the one-year extension focused on two key projects – expanding live trials of use cases across:

  • Smart Social Housing: using connected sensors to monitor damp, mould and heating in social homes.
  • Social Care: using digital technologies, such as smart speakers, to support care and wellbeing services for vulnerable people and improve digital inclusion.

Following the conclusion of the 5G Innovation Regions programme in March 2026, work will continue as part of the wider Glasgow City Region team on Asset Based Connectivity.

Department for Science, Innovation & Technology

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