Novocomms restructures for growth, AIoT and jobs in Birmingham

The plans have the potential to create up to 300 new jobs in Birmingham, said the company. Note that we have already previously reported on 100 of these in June.

Operating under Novocomms Group, the three new businesses are: Novocomms Wireless Antenna, Novocomms Mobile Satellite Solutions and Novocomms Smart Cities. They will target the consumer electronics, commercial & defence satellite, and urban connectivity markets respectively.

“We believe that through better design, we can reduce the bill of materials cost, reduce power consumption and also the weight of a next-generation series of mmWave and mobile satellite antennas,” said CEO, CTO and founder of Novocomms Group Sampson Hu (right). “The industry is hungry for better performance technology that is also eco-friendly and we think we can fulfil that desire.”

Wireless Antenna

The consumer Electronics business – led by Sampson Hu and Peter Hall will build on the existing Novocomms technology, over the last four years.

Mobile Satellite Solutions

The Mobile Satellite Solutions business will also be led by Sampson Hu and supported by Peter Gardner.

It will specialises in the development and manufacture of mmWave and high-performance mobile satellite antenna for the commercial, automotive, infrastructure and defence industries.

Smart Cities

The Smart Cities unit will be led by founder and CEO Johann Tse. Novocomms describes this area as a fast-expanding global market and it will develop new technology ecosystems and AIoT solutions, it says.

“Our research points to a significant demand over the next five years for AI technologies that are integrated into IoT systems,” said Tse. “Our experience of sophisticated antenna design, backed up by Novocomms’ experience in satellite and 5G technology puts us in a prime position to develop and manufacture this type of product.”

Novocomms

“As a former director and CEO of Hutchison 3G, and one of the three founding directors of Orange plc, I’ve seen how UK companies can dominate specific niches within electronics and communications,” said Novocomms chairman, Professor Colin Tucker (right).

“Novocomms, in my opinion, is one such company that has the people, the vision and the know-how to become the dominant force in antenna design and manufacture in the consumer electronics, mobile satellite and smart city sectors.”

In June we reported that the company would be expanding its operations in Birmingham following a successful “multi-million pound” funding round, when the initial creation of 100 jobs was mentioned.

Specifically, the company is set to hire additional engineers and salespeople, move to new offices and create 100 jobs by September 2025. Up to 30 of these roles are expected to be created in the next six months, it says. The exact size of the funding was not disclosed.

The firm is based in the UK, in the West Midlands, and has its roots in research at the University of Birmingham. It has licensed technology from the university and developed a portfolio of its own intellectual property. There are R&D centres in both Birmingham and Suzhou, in China.

See also: 4G LTE antenna for IoT