The UK Office for National Statistics has revealed that the telecoms industry was the fastest-growing sector for R&D (Research & Development) spending in 2018.
2018 saw communication providers and network builders increase their spending on research and development by 25.4 per cent.
Despite this improvement, the sector has reportedly been higher in the past, peaking in 2007 at £1.5bn based on data from Catax. Before 2018, the total R&D spending on related firms hit £755m in 2017 and £797m in 2016.
Catax CEO Mark Tighe said: The telecoms industry is extremely important to the UK strategically and it is reassuring to see such growth in investment
“There is still some way to go if this investment is to recover to levels seen before the financial crash, however, and it is vital this happens if Britain is to continue to be a key technological player on the world stage.
“More broadly, this is the second full year that Brexit Britain has shrugged off the political poison after the EU referendum and posted great gains in terms of R&D investment, running head and shoulders above the long-term average.”
