The North Wales Growth Deal will reach a historic milestone this week as it launches its first project; with new cutting-edge equipment at Bangor University’s Digital Signal Processing (DSP) Centre.
Technology at the DSP Centre, manages the way digital signals are transmitted, providing a solution for the signals to be better processed and received and to be both more secure and more cost effective.
The £3million Growth Deal funding through Ambition North Wales, has enabled the DSP Centre to acquire new equipment to undertake cutting-edge research for digital communications. The funding will develop solutions to support the future’s digital requirements, benefitting businesses and residents with better communication capabilities such as 5G and 6G .The state-of-the art equipment can also be used to advance the development of new prototypes; examples include applications such as enhanced security (an encryption/de-encryption connection to improve digital safety) and environmental sensing (identifying a change in external environment through video transmission). This will provide businesses and communities who use the DSP technology with a more cost effective, more secure and more efficient use of their applications.
The launch event will be marked with a visit from First Minister, Mark Drakeford MS and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales, David TC Davies MP.
Councillor Dyfrig Siencyn, Chair of North Wales Economic Ambition Board said: “We are delighted to have reached a point where we are seeing our first project become reality. It’s fitting that it is in one of the fastest growing sectors, as we look to promote research and innovation in this field as well as improve digital connectivity across the region.
“With the development of globally important technologies here, the DSP Centre is putting North Wales on the map and at the forefront of this exciting sector. The team already works with large international businesses and big names in the industry, including Ciena and Vodafone. They also work with business partners from local SMEs, providing access to state-of-the-art equipment to develop local skills and accelerate their product development.”
The DSP Centre is the only research site in the UK dedicated to addressing DSP technology for future applications and is currently working alongside 30 industry partners to deliver ground-breaking solutions that support the whole manufacturing supply chain and service providers. As well as digital signalling and telecoms, the technology will also have a significant impact on several other sectors, including digital security, health and social care, transport and logistics, and environmental.
Iwan Davies, Vice Chancellor at Bangor University said: “We are grateful for the support and funding through the Growth Deal, and pleased to be able to showcase our new enhanced facilities and world-leading research and development to our guests at this week’s event.
“We are a research-led University, and ventures such as the DSP Centre are a great example of how our research can have real-world impact whilst providing transformative teaching to our students. We also recognise the positive impact we can have on our local community here in Bangor, the wider economy of North Wales and worldwide through developing sustainable technologies in this field.”
First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford MS said: “This is an historic day for the North Wales Growth Deal as the first project to be funded through the deal comes to fruition. With the new equipment available, Bangor University’s DSP Centre will carry out ground-breaking research into digital technology. Demand for digital services is set to continue growing and the centre will be well-placed to become a world-leader in researching how to future-proof this technology.”
“We are also working with the DSP centre to bring faster broadband to rural parts of Anglesey, and I’m pleased to see this exciting development today. With our backing, the Growth Deal team is looking at a number of other exciting projects to come.”
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales, David TC Davies MP, added: “I’m delighted to see the North Wales Growth Deal making fantastic progress. It will bring significant investment and jobs and will help transform the economy of North Wales. Alongside the £120m committed to the North Wales Growth Deal, the UK Government has backed growth deals covering every part of Wales with hundreds of millions more in funding. Working hand in hand with our partners, the deals will unleash the full potential of our communities.
“As the North Wales Growth Deal reaches this landmark, I look forward to seeing many more projects reach fruition across the region and throughout Wales in the coming months and years.”
