Virgin Media O2 and Accenture have announced a new collaboration to seize opportunities in the UK’s growing mobile private network market estimated to reach £528M by 2030.
Virgin Media O2’s 5G private network capabilities for UK businesses will be augmented by Accenture’s expertise in helping enterprises realise the potential of 5G with a broad set of applications for multiple industry segments—including computer vision artificial intelligence for product quality control monitoring of equipment to meet factory floor compliance requirements and queue management systems to improve customer experiences.
The solutions are built on Accenture’s Edge Orchestration Platform and will incorporate edge computing, data and AI, and embedded cybersecurity focusing initially on the construction, transportation and logistics, manufacturing, utilities, warehousing and sports venue sectors. Liberty Global, the joint owner of Virgin Media O2 alongside Telefónica, is also exploring opportunities for these solutions in other geographic markets outside of the UK. The collaboration will scale up in the coming months as joint customer implementations begin to be deployed.
Mobile private networks can also underpin use cases across other industries. In the summer of 2022, for example, Virgin Media O2 Business helped activate the UK’s first 5G-connected hospital with South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust to support mission-critical hospital activity. Access to a private mobile network improved clinician workflow, efficient patient record management, monitoring of smart medicine storage and seamless integration of diverse connected devices.
Jo Bertram, Managing Director of Business and Wholesale at Virgin Media O2, said: “Building on Virgin Media O2’s established expertise in deploying mobile private networks, this new partnership with Accenture leverages their industry-specific knowledge and proven digital platform and solutions to help broaden our offering to businesses. From facilitating safe communication on construction sites to powering critical devices in hospitals, businesses across a range of sectors will have access to a one-stop shop of innovative, adaptive and secure mobile private network solutions.”
Andy Tay, Global Lead at Accenture Cloud First, said: “Enterprises need to reinvent their networks to become agile and competitive, and it starts with access to reliable and secure mobile connectivity. This enables companies to build a strong digital core that uses the power of cloud, data, artificial intelligence and other technologies alongside new ways of working—ultimately helping them to optimise operations, drive growth, and reach new levels of performance.”