The aim of the programme is to finance projects that digitally transform strategic sectors for Spain, such as the connected vehicle, agri-food and audiovisual sectors, with a commitment to immersive technologies and the metaverse.
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A new call for grants for the development of transformative 5G projects
The Official State Gazette has published the call for aid from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation UNICO 5G Sectorial 2023 to carry out experimental development projects for 5G applications and services that have an impact on the digital transformation of key economic sectors for the country.
This generation of mobile technology opens a window of opportunities such as Industry 4.0 due to its characteristics – high speed and low latency; network virtualisation; computing at the edge – which is transforming industrial processes.
Spain, a driving force for digitisation
The aim of these grants is to promote a productive fabric that thinks, creates and designs applications and services that take advantage of this technology, playing a driving role for the specific application sector, and thus reinforcing Spain’s role as one of the driving forces of digitisation in the EU as a whole.
The subsidies, in competitive concurrence and endowed with an initial budget of ten million euros – extendable to five million – are intended to promote the development of an ecosystem between companies, operators, as well as agents, Involved that favour the application of 5G technology in an agile and rapid manner in strategic economic sectors in Spain.
Boosting key sectors
The call prioritises the assignment of funding to 5G experimental development projects in three key areas for the country from an economic and strategic point of view, such as the connected vehicle, agri-food and audiovisual sectors.
Following previous UNICO 5G sectoral calls, work is being done on projects associated with the autonomous car and intelligent transport corridors through the deployment of 5G-based solutions, testing remote driving, smart pay-per-use and simulation of critical situations.
Another strategic sector is the agri-food sector, which is undergoing a digital transformation and where 5G technology is also being used.
Finally, the programme prioritises the audiovisual sector, a valuable industry that is being transformed by the expansion of new immersive technologies and the metaverse in areas such as education, video games and series and television production.
With the first two calls resolved, funding has been provided for extended reality projects that merge virtual and real elements, and for human-machine interaction through the use of immersive solutions that incorporate 5G technology for waste treatment.
The aim is also to reach other sectors such as tourism, education, security, emergency management and energy, among others.
Potential beneficiaries
The grants are aimed at companies and research and knowledge dissemination centres that develop projects (between 300,000 euros and 3 million euros) in Spain around 5G applications and services. These can be deployed on private networks, on a self-provisioning basis, and on public or mixed networks.
The aid intensity varies depending on the size of the company and can reach 60%. Among the criteria for assessing the projects, factors such as reducing the gender gap in the field of R&D in Telecommunications, favouring the ecological transition and generating net, quality employment will be taken into account.
UNICO 5G SECTORAL Programme
The programme aims to finance projects based on 5G technology that involves a digital transformation of different economic sectors, either through the creation of a new business model or through the substantial modification of an existing one.
This programme contributes to the objectives of the Recovery Plan to accelerate the deployment of 5G technology in relevant economic activity environments. Two previous calls have been launched.