NEWS

On September 4th 2026, the Smart Energy Code established a new 5G Communications Hub Working Group. It aims to help develop the next generation of communications hubs, including 5G and other emerging technologies.

The timing is significant. The industry is still managing the transition to 4G, yet work on what comes next has already begun. Communications hubs are becoming part of a continuous technology lifecycle, rather than infrastructure that can be installed once and left alone.

In this article, we’ll look at what the new working group will do and why suppliers need to prepare for continual replacement of communications hubs.

Planning for 5G is underway

The new 5G Communications Hub Working Group sits under the Technical Architecture and Business Architecture Sub-Committee, or TABASC. Its purpose is to support the timely introduction of future 5G communications hubs into the smart metering supply chain. The group will contribute from the Outline Business Case through to the Final Business Case. It will review technical choices and trade-offs using information from the DCC and other research where needed.

That work will cover issues including:

• Communications hub hardware, firmware and functionality
• 5G Reduced Capability, or RedCap, alongside other emerging radio technologies
• Security requirements, including future risks linked to post-quantum computing
• Testing strategies and the criteria new technology must meet before entering the system

The group will not make formal decisions itself. Instead, it will develop recommendations for TABASC.

It’s interesting that the group is going into this level of detail. The industry has already moved beyond simply asking whether 5G could play a role in smart metering. It is now working through how the next generation of communications hubs could be designed, secured and tested.

The upgrade never really stops

This work is starting while the industry is still dealing with the move towards 4G communications hubs. That overlap shows how quickly communications technology can create another operational challenge. Smart meters rely on a working communications route to retain their smart functionality. The meter may continue recording energy use if communications fail, but the wider system loses much of its value. 

The view is now that communications hubs cannot be treated as equipment that goes into a property once and stays there for the life of the meter. Networks change and technical requirements move on, so the communications hardware supporting an installed meter may need replacing even when the meter itself still works. For suppliers, that creates a continuing cycle. New communications technology enters the system, becomes established and eventually gives way to whatever comes next.

The creation of the 5G working group makes that cycle visible. Suppliers are already dealing with one communications transition while the industry starts planning another. Maintaining smart functionality will increasingly depend on managing that technology lifecycle over the long term.

Replacement is the job

Moving forward, suppliers will need to plan for ongoing work across their estate of hubs and meters, including:

• Identifying ageing communications hubs before they affect smart functionality
• Scheduling replacement work alongside new installations
• Preparing for new technical requirements as each communications generation develops
• Making sure replacement hubs meet changing security and testing requirements

The scope of the new 5G working group shows how involved that process can become. Future hubs will bring new decisions around hardware, firmware and network technology. Suppliers will also need to respond to new security requirements as the technology develops.

Replacing ageing hubs is therefore essential to keeping existing smart meters working as intended. Suppliers need resources and planning to support that work alongside the remaining rollout.

Looking to the future

The new 5G Communications Hub Working Group marks an early step towards the next generation of smart meter communications. It also shows how the smart metering programme is changing. Communications technology will keep developing long after individual meters enter service, bringing further replacement work with it.

Suppliers need to prepare for that cycle now, regarding replacing communications hubs as a permanent part of running the smart meter network.