Marking The Close of the YO-RAN Secure 5G Project

17/12/2025

This week marks the conclusion of the YO-RAN (Yorkshire Open Radio Access Networks) Project — an initiative supported by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) through its Future Open Networks Research Challenge. From its base in Yorkshire, this project has delivered major advances in secure, sovereign and sustainable 5G telecommunications, powered by the ingenuity of local innovators.

Working hand-in-hand with leading universities, network operators and technology peers, Slipstream Design has played a key role in shaping the next generation of open, future-ready mobile networks — all from the heart of Yorkshire’s thriving tech landscape.

About the YO-RAN Project

The YO-RAN project set out with a clear ambition: to strengthen UK network resilience and champion homegrown innovation through Open RAN technology. By bringing together Yorkshire’s brightest minds and strongest technical institutions, the project aimed to:

  • Develop low-cost, reconfigurable Radio Units (RUs) with multiband capability
  • Create a RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) for dynamic network optimisation
  • Enable a neutral host network to foster a more diverse and competitive ecosystem

Slipstream Design’s Role in the YO-RAN Project

Slipstream Design brought our expertise in adaptive radio technology to the forefront of 5G innovation. From our base in Shipley, West Yorkshire, we led the development of a new, flexible radio unit designed to support the next generation of secure and open mobile networks.

Working in partnership with fellow Yorkshire company Radio Design, the collaboration united two of the region’s RF specialists to deliver something truly homegrown. By combining Slipstream Design’s ASTRO platform — a super compact, wideband adaptive radio processor — with Radio Design’s reconfigurable filter technology, the team created an adaptable, future-ready radio unit that embodies Yorkshire’s spirit of engineering excellence.

ASTRO Radio Unit sat on a test bench, plugged into an oscilloscope with a clear waveform generated

Pictured: Slipstream Design testing the ASTRO unit integrated with Radio Design’s tunable filter at BT Adastral Park, December 2024

ASTRO is a neutral host, multi-carrier radio unit designed with the intention to reduce the number of radio systems required for deployment of 5G infrastructure. 

Software-defined, this means it is rapidly reconfigurable, ensuring that the physical unit stays in place while the service remains relevant, secure, and supported by UK communication security experts. 

We made alliances with Adtran to ensure that our Radio Unit was a good fit with their service of data connectivity in the UK. 

Left: three members of the Adtran team; right; Phil and Sarah of Slipstream Design. All smiling at the camera. The background is a glimpse of a lab area

Pictured: The Adtran team meeting with Slipstream Design Directors Phil and Sarah in April 2024.

In December 2024, the Slipstream Design team successfully completed over-the-air testing, demonstrating the ASTRO radio unit’s ability to generate complex telecommunication waveforms across public and private 5G frequency bands. 

This marks a significant step forward in the development of sovereign, UK-built 5G technology, with Slipstream Design leading. 

Phase 2: Building on Momentum

The YO-RAN project was extended — reflecting the rich expertise and momentum gained by its Yorkshire-based contributors. Under this extension Slipstream Design focused on:

  • Securing and delivering focused customer demonstrations to gain end-user insights
  • Developing and testing a ruggedised 3U VPX SOSA-aligned form factor
  • Refining IP cores within our proprietary stack enabling digital beamforming  

Slipstream Design began working with Jet Connectivity to understand how their ORAN Stack would enhance ASTRO and Radio Design’s tunable filter by making their transmit / receive signals more reliable and secure for next generation Open RAN networks. 

This second phase has deepened partnerships, refined the technology stack, and further established the UK’s commitment to open, secure 5G innovation.

Strengthening Northern Innovation

The YO-RAN project might have been the starting point for these partnerships, but what really remains is a shared confidence in Yorkshire’s engineering and innovation.

From our base in West Yorkshire to our work on national innovation programmes, Slipstream Design is a committed part of the Northern RF Cluster. We’re continuing to show that advanced technology thrives in the North, and we’re pushing forward on next-generation communication system research that will help ASTRO develop in practical, flexible, and meaningful ways.

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