UK government assesses risks and opportunities from comms networks evolution

The government has released details of a meeting of UK academic, industry and government representatives, as well as global technology and IT leaders, to look at the risks and opportunities posed by the evolution of telecoms networks as they become more open, complex and disaggregated, with an increasing number of devices able to communicate across a range of fixed and mobile infrastructures.

The starting point of the meeting was the premise that future comms technologies are increasingly converging with other technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum. While there are clear benefits, new use cases and opportunities to be achieved from embracing this convergence, the UK government noted that risks must also be considered and mitigated. 

Among the main risks associated with the evolution of telecommunications networks were misuse of remote sensing capabilities, interference with satellite communications, insufficient network software testing and lack of investment. These, said the government, would have implications for privacy, security, resilience and deployment.

Attending the meeting of experts were Angela McLean, chair and government chief scientific adviser; Henrik Almeida (Ericsson); Yansha Deng (King’s College London); Sophie Greaves (TechUK); Silke Holtmanns (PwC); Luke Ibbetson (Vodafone); Dritan Kaleshi (Digital Catapult); David Lister (Vodafone); Julie McCann (Imperial College London); Dimitra Simeonidou (University of Bristol); David Soldani (Rakuten); Rahim Tafazolli (University of Surrey); Howard Watson (BT Group); and Ollie Whitehouse (National Cyber Security Centre).

Looking at basic telecoms, the panel observed that despite significant investment, the deployment of 5G has so far generated limited returns for operators. There are concerns that the financial disappointment of 5G may result in a lack of investment in future networks, such as 6G.

The panel suggested that the UK could benefit from positioning itself to exploit niches in the supply chains of future generations of networks. Supply chain diversification, as networks become more disaggregated, could facilitate a more significant role for smaller companies manufacturing component parts.

The experts predicted that telecoms networks and technologies are likely to become increasingly integrated with other technologies, such as AI, quantum and semiconductors. Although it said this may create increasingly complex networks that become difficult to manage, the panel predicted great benefits to be achieved from embracing technology convergence. It added that the UK has an opportunity to take a lead in helping to establish new global standards for 6G and future telecoms networks, underpinned by developments in AI and quantum technologies.

In addition, the panel said connecting private networks, thereby creating a “network of networks”, could offer new avenues for providers to generate revenues. However, it stressed careful measures would need to be employed to ensure the security of these networks. In particular, it suggested developing algorithms to securely encrypt telecoms data would be of increasing importance as critical infrastructure systems, and society in general, become more dependent on future networks. Moreover, as the capabilities of quantum computers continue to increase, it was suggested there could be a significant risk that they could be used by malicious actors to compromise the security of current communications networks.

In the realm of remote sensing – that is, the ability to monitor an object or area via data collected from a distance – the panel concluded that its development and deployment across telecoms networks could have serious privacy implications and be used to reveal increasing amounts of personal user data. It warned that control of physical devices remotely via networks – cars being a prime example – could pose a threat to life if abused by malicious actors. To mitigate this, the experts said advanced techniques may need to be developed for obscuring signals and securing data from sensors.

As advances in telecoms systems underpinned by non-terrestrial networks – for example, satellites – are anticipated to provide more widespread voice and data connectivity directly from satellites to consumer devices, providing broader coverage than cellular networks, the panel worried about jamming and spoofing of signals, such as GPS, which could affect the reliability of both satellite and terrestrial communications.

The experts said developing alternative systems for position, navigation and timing could help to reduce dependence on GPS and that creating international standards for future communications will be critical for regulating the deployment of networks and ensuring they are safe and secure.