10 Jan 2022
The Federal Government has announced $20 million in funding for Round 2 of the 5G Innovation Grants Initiative. Applications open in early 2022. Here is everything you need to know.
MobileCorp was successful in securing a Round 1 5G Innovation Grant. Our project will use 5G to stream High Definition video from aerial and underwater drones operated by Gidarjil land and sea rangers in far North Queensland. Read about our successful Round 1 Grant Project
What is the 5G Innovation Grant Initiative - Round 2?
The Australian Federal Government has allocated a total of $40 million in grant funding to create a pipeline of trials demonstrating different 5G applications. The program will take place over a five year period from 2020-21 to 2024-25.
$20 million was allocated to 19 projects as Round 1 Grants in July 2021.
A additional $20 million will be allocated as Round 2 grants in 2022. The grant amount will be up to 80 per cent of eligible project expenditure. The minimum grant amount is $100,000 and the maximum grant amount is $2 million.
When do applications open?
Round 2 applications opened on Wednesday 9 March 2022 and close on Monday 11 April 2022 at 5pm.
Is there a difference between Round 1 and Round 2 grant criteria?
Round 1 was linked to the JobMaker strategy of the September 2020 Budget and had a focus on job creation.
Round 2 has a broader focus on developing Australia’s 5G ecosystem and driving productivity growth. The Initiative is part of Australia's Digital Economy Strategy and will "contribute to Australia’s goal of becoming a leading digital economy and society by 2030."
In Round 2 up to $2 million in funding will also be directed to projects delivered in the Western Parkland City district to leverage the Government’s investments under the Western Sydney City Deal.
Who is eligible to apply for a Grant?
To be eligible entities must:- have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
- be registered for the Goods and Services Tax (GST)
- be able to meet 20 percent of the project costs - under consideration for Round 2.
- an entity, incorporated in Australia
- a company limited by guarantee
- an incorporated trustee on behalf of a trust
- an incorporated not for profit organisation
- a Local Government or State/Territory Government agency or body, where an application involves a partnership with at least one other eligible entity.
- a publicly funded research organisation (PFRO)
- a university
- an individual
- a partnership
- an unincorporated association
What are the objectives of the 5G Innovation Grant Initiative?
The objectives of the grant opportunity are to:
- support innovative and emerging 5G trials that undertake rigorous, commercial, and replicable testing of 5G technology
- offer businesses the opportunity to identify 5G applications that demonstrate 5G’s capability
- support various projects that demonstrate 5G’s capability and benefits across a range of industry sectors and locations.
What are the intended outcomes of the 5G Innovation Grant Initiative?
- create a series of trials demonstrating different 5G applications (including Internet of Things applications) which build Australia’s 5G ecosystem
- support the testing of 5G applications that bring productivity benefits to businesses and organisations in Australia
- showcase 5G applications across different industries and locations, and demonstrating the productivity benefits as widely as possible.
What projects are likely to be successful?
It all comes down to the idea!
These are Innovation grants and the successful recipients will be demonstrating how 5G can enable a new, emerging, or extended/improved business use case.
Consider how 5G's low-latency, increased bandwidth, and faster speeds could drive an improvement in your business or industry.
How would that idea be trialled? Could you carry out the trial as a sole applicant or would your application be enhanced by leading a consortium of experts.
Round 1 grants ranged from $120,000 for real time water pipe inspection analysis, to $2 million towards an automated rail terminal and autonomous cargo vehicles for Port Botany.
Grants in Round 1 were awarded to a wide range of industries, use cases, locations, and vendors.
Remote AgriBusiness - testing of innovative, ruggedised long-range 5G gateways in agricultural applications across various regional, rural and remote locations.
Mining - the creation of a private 5G LTE network technical architecture and commercial model to be delivered in an operating underground mine.
Firefighting - development of an autonomous/remote control 'Firefighting Tank' (called the Fire Tank) which is a purpose built firefighting vehicle capable of traversing extremely dangerous terrains to support rescue, path clearing and firefighting missions. Low-band 5G will be used to support long-range remote control of the vehicles.
Water - improving wastewater pipe inspections using Artificial Intelligence and 5G to analyse data in real time.
MobileCorp secures Round 1 5G Innovation Grant
MobileCorp was successful in securing a grant with our partners - Gidarjil Development Corporation, SeeunderSea and Drone Training Solutions.
The first Project Milestone will take place in February 2022. 5G-enabled video will be streamed from underwater and aerial drones operated by Gidarjil land and sea rangers in Bundaberg.
Read about our successful Round 1 Grant Project
About MobileCorp
MobileCorp is an enterprise technology company with a mission to deliver our customers an intelligent connectivity edge. We are a leading Australian 5G specialist deploying some of Australia's first 5G networks and winning multiple awards. We also provide Managed Mobility Services, Enterprise Mobility Management, Complex Data and IP Networks, and Unified Communication solutions. We have a proven track record providing managed services for Australian enterprise and business, and we are a Telstra Platinum Partner and Cradlepoint Elite Partner.
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