Slipstream Design Hits Milestone: ASTRO tested for YO-RAN Project
23/01/2025
The Slipstream Engineering Design Team has completed the testing of ASTRO, a compact wideband reconfigurable radio platform, integrated with Radio Design’s reconfigurable filter technology, marking a new milestone in developing UK homegrown 5G technology.

Working as part of the YO-RAN project, our consortium partner, BT, extended its welcome to use its state-of-the-art telecommunications test facility at Adastral Park. There the Slipstream Design team were able to take advantage of the on-site 5G innovation laboratories as well as the state-of-the-art anechoic chamber.
As part of testing, the Slipstream Design team successfully showed the reconfigurable neutral host Radio Unit generating complex telecommunication waveforms in public and private 5G frequency bands. The demonstration of over-the-air transmission at BT’s Adastral Park marks a significant milestone for not only ASTRO but the YO-RAN project as a whole.
Supported by the Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT), YO-RAN has brought together leading universities, telecommunications suppliers and network operators to develop Open RAN components for Neutral Host Networks. Aiming to diversify the UK’s 5G ecosphere, the project has resulted in the realisation of these novel Radio Unit technologies.
Slipstream Design recognised a key challenge in deploying neutral host services on Open RAN technology: the availability of flexible Radio Units (RUs) with the required multiband and wideband capabilities.
Key consortium collaborators Adtran provided input to shape the UK sovereign 5G reconfigurable Radio Unit.
Working with Radio Design, who have developed a novel tuneable filter that synchronises with our software-defined Radio Unit, ASTRO, was a huge part of addressing the need for an adaptable communications system. In developing more sustainable Radio Units that can be reconfigured in the field, which are resilient to threats and have reduced power consumption, we address the growing need for increased connectivity through private networks.
We’ll next be looking for opportunities to integrate the Radio Unit with wider telecommunications systems as well as hosting demonstrations of the home-grown 5G technology.
To find out more about ASTRO’s 5G and digital beamforming capabilities: download the datasheet