We have allocated up to £2m to invest in a small number of projects that will establish network services demonstrators.

We expect the demonstrators that emerge from this competition's projects to become national 'hotspots' for trials and innovation in business models, applications and services that centre on advanced network infrastructure and service enablers.

There is high unmet demand for open, live experimentation with advanced networks. Although such networks are already available and small-scale trials are under way, this initiative will add value by stimulating the opening up of advanced capabilities, lowering barriers to experimentation, and increasing visibility and critical mass.

The competition is open to business-led consortia, and we encourage collaboration among the various communities in the digital ecosystem. We will fund up to 50% of eligible costs.

Funded projects will comprise two phases:

Phase 1: over four to six months consortium partners will develop a demonstrator, together with a proof of principle business model, application or service that is enabled by the demonstrator's features.

Phase 2: the demonstrator will go live and be made available for third parties to experiment with novel business models, applications and services based on the demonstrator's features. The consortium will be required to maintain the demonstrator for at least one year.

To register your interest in this competition, for more information and to find out about upcoming consortium-building events contact Dr. Maurizio Pilu, Lead Technologist for ICT at Maurizio.Pilu@tsb.gov.uk. We are planning to hold a consortium-building event in London on May 12^th.