Telecoms industry fastest growing R&D spender

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed that the telecoms industry was the UK’s most rapidly growing sector for research and development (R&D) spending in 2018.

Statistics from the ONS’s “Business enterprise research and development, UK: 2018” report showed that internet service providers (ISP) and network developers increased their R&D spending by 25.4 per cent, or £192 million, to a total of £947 million, up from £755 million in 2017.

Despite the increase, the sector’s spending on R&D has been higher in the past, with figures from R&D tax specialists Catax claiming that the telecoms industry’s R&D spending peaked at £1.5 billion in 2007. The 2017 figure was itself a decrease from the industry’s 2016 outlay of £797 million.

Overall, UK businesses across all sectors increased their R&D spending by 5.8 per cent, or £1.4 billion, to £25 billion in 2018.

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.”

Tighe added that: The rate at which UK businesses are adding R&D staff to the workforce remains impressive, virtually matching the previous year with a rise of 7.3 per cent.”