Networld Europe, an ICT technology platform in Europe, has helped the EU Commission write the next ICT work programme by offering its Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) as a baseline document and European take on necessary technology areas representing the views of more than 1000 members of Networld Europe. The objective of this task is also to make Information and Communications Technology research, development, and innovation (R&D&I) more available throughout all of Europe for both citizens and businesses.
The SRIA was also developed to support the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS)* members in charge of writing the draft proposal for the SNS JU work programme and is produced in consultation with key stakeholders. The SRIA is a roadmap and a joint vision of European ICT players that outlines the research and innovation priorities as Europe moves toward 6G. It will help the EU meet its digital economy and society goals and support industrial policy objectives. “SRIA 2022 is an ambitious and wide-ranging living document that contains a white paper and a technical annex that will be updated regularly to reflect changes in technology and market developments. It captures the current thinking of the Networld Europe members on where ICT R&D&I should be heading in order to enable a fully digitalised and decarbonised European economy and society. It will help the European Commission to formulate its next ICT work programme in a way that is aligned with the ambitions of the EU. The plan is to update it already in 2024,” says Ari Pouttu, 6G Flagship’s Vice Director and chairperson of the Expert advisory group of Networld Europe that is in charge of producing the SRIA. The white paper of the SRIA discusses the ICT impact on European business and highlights the major EU and EC policies affected and supported. The white paper describes the EU plans and methods and highlights some member state initiatives in the ICT domain towards 6G. The document gives Networld Europe’s vision on 6G before briefly highlighting the nine technology R&D&I areas, which are more deeply described in the technology annex of the SRIA. The white paper then describes the time plan for different technology R&D&I areas and discusses the metrics usable to evaluate the progress in different areas. The technical annex, on the other hand, is a comprehensive review of more than 300 pages on important R&D&I topics as we move towards 6G.
The document provides insight into nine technology areas, namely: 1. System services description, 2. System and Network Architecture (incl. edge computing), 3. Network and Service Security, 4. Software technologies for telecommunications, 5. Radio Technology and Signal Processing, 6. Optical Networks and System Components, 7. Non-Terrestrial Networks and System Components. 8. Devices and Components for 2030, and 9. Future and Emerging Technologies. There is still plenty of room for improvement in digitising different industries. Standardisation bodies still need to comprehensively examine most areas to identify which requireSRIA 2022 is an ambitious and ments are crucial and would be wide-ranging living document meaningful. Without full mobili ty data integration, existing net which contains a white paper work solutions cannot support the most advanced cases. As and a technical annex that will industries change, so must the be updated regularly to reflect networks that support them. Smart Networks and Services changes in technology and JU ICT work programme will market developments. enable several vertical domains to evolve. Ecosystems connected to digital platforms and marketplaces create value for all members and have the potential to disrupt entire industries, having a significant economic and social impact.
NetworldEurope is the European Technology Platform for communications networks and services. The Platform gathers players of the communications networks sector: industry leaders, innovative SMEs, and leading academic institutions.
