Minister for Digital Matt Hancock reaffirmed his commitment to expediting the transformative potential of 5G and full fibre as complementary technologies.
"I don't believe 5G and full fibre are alternatives," he stated. "Even if 5G can bring great speeds to your phone, there's only ever limited spectrum, so full fibre and 5G are complementary technologies.
"As with full fibre, our aim is to demonstrate the benefits 5G can deliver for businesses and how new applications and services can be developed using 5G technology."
Hancock expressed astonishment over the large proportion of 4G base stations that are connected via copper and radio links.
"While this may be adequate for 4G services, it makes it hard to maximise the benefits of 4G, let alone reach the fast approaching multi-gigabit demands of 5G," he added. "And we're going to need fibre spines in much greater density to deliver that 5G connection."
Hancock revealed details of an update to the Government's 5G strategy which was published at Budget 2017.
"In October we launched a competition to select a number of projects to be funded in 2018/19 as part of the 5G Testbeds & Trials programme," he explained.
"This first phase of the programme will help encourage the development of a 5G ecosystem in the UK and builds on the foundations laid by our investment in the 5G university research announced at the Budget.
"The full fibre and 5G programmes are being taken forward under a shared budget, and we hope to fund joint projects that explore the interplay between the two."