LIVE FROM WWRF/techUK 5G HUDDLE: Ed Vaizey, the UK’s digital economy minister, talked up the achievements of the Spectrum Policy Forum on its first anniversary, while announcing another programme designed to further  encourage  technology growth.

The forum is a self-styled ‘sounding board’ from the UK’s mobile industry to government  and Ofcom, the country’s regulator. “The private sector is vital, you hold the answers,” the minister (pictured) told his audience.

Hundreds of companies are members of the forum, he added.  And they can tell government and regulator whether proposals are “desirable, practical or risky”.

“Spectrum plays a huge role in future economic policy,” the minster emphasised. Other initiatives in the radio sector include joint Anglo-German research between the Universities of Surrey and Dresden into 5G, the theme of the day, as well as work on the crossover between 5G and IoT.

However, spectrum is only one aspect of the digital economy and the minister also announced  a new programme focused on promoting innovation, to be backed by techUK, the country’s technology trade association. The new programme is called the Future Technologies Network.