The British prime minister David Cameron has revealed an additional £45m of funding to Internet of Things (IoT) technology, bringing total funding to £73m.

Cameron announced at the CeBit 2014 trade fair in Hanover, Germany that Britain will work alongside Germany to provide 5G internet- permitting download speeds so fast a user can download a feature length film in less than a second.

“Just a decade ago – Skype was a typo, a tweet was something you heard from a bird, a cloud was something you saw in the sky – not somewhere you stored your data,” Cameron said.

He announced three specific areas where the UK wants to work with Germany:

* 5G internet

* IoT

* Strengthening the EU’s digital single market

A new collaboration to develop 5G between the University of Dresden in Germany, King’s College University in London and the University of Surrey in South-East England was announced as part of the package of measures.

The UK Government and regulatory body Ofcom are aiming to double economic benefits of spectrum to UK companies and consumer from approximately £50bn to £100bn in 2025.

The IoT has an “enormous potential to change our lives,” Cameron said.

“I see the Internet of Things as a huge transformative development, a way of boosting productivity, of keeping us healthier, making transport more efficient, reducing energy needs, tackling climate change,” Cameron said.

The UK’s innovation and technology sector is worth an estimated £58bn to the UK economy.

“We are on the brink of a new industrial revolution and I want us- the UK and Germany- to lead it,” Cameron said.

Cloudreach’s head of data and analytics Steve Mew said the Government needs to manage the development from a utility point of view, making sure it is funded by a steady flow of capital rather than one-time investors.

“On a short term level, £45 million is a lot to pour into this project and many will say that it could be better spent elsewhere, but if you look at the long term impact and the changes that the internet of things could induce, then I would argue that it is money well spent,” Mew said.

“Planning is key. The Government must have an investment strategy in place to stagger funding into the industry to boost companies involved with the internet of things.”