Lime Microsystems powers Secure 5G Platform with Efficient Wideband PA picked by the UK Government for Future RAN Funding

Guildford UK, December 24th 2021 - Lime Microsystems is proud to announce its participation in a project for 5G cellular supply chain diversification as part of the UK Government's Future RAN (FRAN) efforts: a Secure 5G Platform using Novel, Efficient Wideband Power Amplifier (PA).

Funded as part of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) and the Future RAN Competition (FRANC), the project in which Lime Micro is a partner aims to democratise radio access networks (RANs) in order to end vendor lock-in and improve flexibility, affordability, and interoperability - all key to the UK Government's recently-announced plan to see 35 per cent of UK cellular traffic carried over open RAN architectures by 2030.

"We at Lime are pleased to see the project we and our partners have proposed selected by the DCMS," said Lime chief executive officer Ebrahim Bushehri following the Government's announcement. "Software-defined radio technologies and commodity hardware are key to truly flexible open RAN solutions, and the Government's pledge to promote Open RAN technologies in the UK aligns perfectly with our drive to democratise wireless communication for all."

The project will see Lime Micro, Slipstream Engineering Design, Arqit, and the Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult working together on the development of a wideband solution for 5G cellular open RAN platforms using a high-efficiency power amplifier and a Lime Micro FPRF software-defined radio system capable of operating up to the 10GHz spectrum.

The system will also be used to demonstrate a new security layer, based on project partner Arqit's QuantumCloud platform, which promises to be stronger yet simpler than current cryptographic systems - and is quantum-proof, protecting it against attacks from future quantum computing systems.

Additional information on the FRANC grant awardees is available on GOV.UK.