Camberley will be home of the UK’s first 5G-enabled shopping centre

The UK is gaining its first 5G-enabled shopping centre in the form of Camberley's the Square shopping centre. It's all part of a joint venture between Surrey Heath Borough Council and Huawei UK.

Working alongside the world's first dedicated 5G research facility, the University of Surrey's 5G innovation centre, a 'test-bed' will be produced for innovations within retail. Few details have been provided so far on what that actually entails, but we're thinking that could mean more efficient shopping services such as the ability to easily pre-order items to avoid queues, more interactive displays that take advantage of AR technology, and potentially better indoor navigation for customers.

Chief executive of Huawei UK, Jerry Wang, did offer some insight into what 5G could mean for Camberley, "5G will open the door for virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence and tailored in-store signage and entertainment experiences. It will also allow greater control over how stock levels and the supply chain is managed, improve customer insights and in-store experience for customers when they are shopping."

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Cutting edge 5G shopping

It's a significant coup for the area with past 5G shopping centres including locations like Shanghai's Lujiazui L+ Mall and Helsinki's Mall of Tripla. It seems likely that all shopping centres will embrace 5G thanks to better infrastructures but it's always best to be first with these things, highlighting what technology can accomplish.

Founder of the 5G Innovation Centre at the University of Surrey, Professor Rahim Tafazolli, explained, "by providing the cutting-edge technology for the UK’s first fully 5G-enabled shopping centre, we will give Camberley’s retailers a head-start in the race to transform retail for the future."

Further investment

At a time when shopping centres are feeling the pressure thanks to the competition from online shopping, anything that makes trawling a series of physical stores more attractive has to be worth doing by retail consortiums. Indeed, Surrey Heath Borough Council has already stated it will consider further investment opportunities as the project grows.

In case you fancy a trip to Camberley, the Square is a 460,000 sq ft undercover shopping centre with 110 retail tenants, so it's a substantial project to embrace 5G. It'll be fascinating to see just how stores use the technology for both customers and staff alike.