Weaver Labs, the Web3 startup driving growth through connectivity, has been selected as a winner of the UK Government Future RAN Competition (FRANC), launched by DCMS.

The competition has been set up to fund innovative R&D projects across the UK to develop Open RAN technology. Weaver Labs is part of the winning O-RANOS Consortium alongside partners Cellnex, University of Bristol, Attocore, Satellite Applications Catapult and Parallel Wireless.

This announcement comes as the UK government and MNOs look to boost innovation and accelerate the rollout of this new wireless communication technology known as Open Radio Access Networks (Open RAN), which enables mobile networks to be built using a variety of different equipment suppliers.

In this project, Cell-Stack will be the network asset management tool used to onboard the different software elements into the platform and integrate all network components. Cell-Stack will also make it possible to interconnect multi-domain networks using a zero-trust approach, a cybersecurity architecture required in networks with a diverse supply chain and multiple technologies.

For Weaver Labs, this opportunity marks a key step forward in advancing its vision to establish an open, public and decentralised network, serving as the engine of a marketplace of connectivity assets. Beyond this project Weaver Labs will continue to commercialise Cell-Stack as a solution to stimulate investment in telecommunications infrastructure, to both public and private sector.

Maria Lema, Co-Founder of Weaver Labs said “We are extremely proud of being part of this new partnership with such a diverse and rich consortium. We believe the future of telecoms resides in empowering diversity and collaboration across the industry. This marks a key next step for Cell-Stack as we get to advance and work on key elements of the decentralised market while contributing to the advancement of Open RAN and secure networks using Zero Trust”

Mick Goulding, Commercial Director of Cellnex UK, said "In collaboration with our partners at AttoCore, Parallel Wireless, Satellite Applications Catapult, the University of Bristol and Weaver Labs, we're creating a first-of-its-kind platform that will help bridge the digital divide in the UK. The O-RANOS project will seek to demonstrate how the roll-out and adoption of Open RAN can be accelerated in the UK, creating the potential for faster 5G network deployment across the country. We're delighted to have received funding for the project as part of DCMS's FRANC grant, which will allow us to accelerate its development."

Digital Infrastructure Minister Julia Lopez, said "Our mobile networks play an increasingly crucial part in our lives and businesses, which is why we're investing £36 million in cutting-edge projects to ensure our networks are safe and secure for decades to come, I'm pleased to see such an outstanding range of innovators are now on board with FRANC as we push ahead to build a more competitive and resilient telecoms supply chain."