SNS JU October 2024 Newsflash

SNS Steering and Technical Board Meetings

Steering Board Meeting

The SNS SB meeting took place on 8 October 2024 in Castelldefels, Spain hosted by CTTC. This was the first face-to-face meeting where nearly the complete set of both SNS Call 1 and Call 2 projects attended. At the meeting, Mikael Fallgren, Ericsson and Anastasius Gavras, Eurescom were approved as SB Chair and SB Vice-Chair respectively, for the next year. Full day of intense discussion about joint activities in the Boards, Task Force and Working Groups in planning the outcome of the activities of the respective groups.

Technical Board Meeting

The SNS TB meeting took place on 10 October 2024 in the same place with the Call 2 projects which are now onboarded in the collaborative activities of the SNS. The TB consists of the Technical Managers of all the SNS JU projects, who are working together, advance the development of key enabling technologies for 6G networks and enhance the EU expertise in critical technological sectors. Some of the key enablers that the TB is currently focusing on (and will soon publish its position/findings) are the use of AI/ML in B5G/6G networks and the development of a sustainability framework for B5G/6G networks.

5G TECHRITORY 2024

The 5G TECHRITORY event took place from 30 October to 31 October 2024 with over 600 speakers and guests in attendance in Riga, Latvia. The 5G Techritory platform is an initiative to bring together the key players in 5G development with the goal of developing a robust and aligned 5G Ecosystem in Europe and beyond.

Topics of the event:

• Digital Twins Enabling Future Metacities
• Public & Private partnership in Cybersecurity
• 6G Research and Development
• Open RAN deployment
• Defence Connectivity
• Maritime Autonomy
• Quantum Technologies

SNS JU unveiled the 16 winning projects selected from its third call for proposals (press release). The funded projects are focused on advancing the next generation of communications networks and services, supporting 301 beneficiaries from 25 countries. There was also a video with SNS projects contributions was displayed during the event.

Hexa-X-II featured at the event with its Core Group, including Mikko Uusitalo, Patrik Rugeland, Mauro Boldi, and the T7.1 team. The project presented a special video titled ‘Hexa-X-II: Key Contributions to the Future of 6G.’

SNS ICE organized and led multiple panels to collaborate and understand the European priorities. There was a dedicated SNS ICE Showroom where the work and tools of the entire SNS JU was promoted (project videos, demos, discussions, etc.). SNS ICE also organised during 5G TECHRITORY a co-creation event titled “From 5G to 6G: Leveraging key trends and 5G evolution to shape 6G for vertical sectors” on 30 October. TRIALSNET and TARGET-X participated in this co-creation event.

IEEE Future Networks World Forum 2024

The IEEE FNWF24 took place in Dubai, UAE on 15-17 October 2024. The theme for this global 5G and Beyond event was focused on the academic and industry work that entails envisioning a highly sophisticated and interconnected digital ecosystem that transcends the capabilities of current networks. It involves picturing a landscape where the Internet seamlessly integrates with cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and the Internet of Things.

6G-NTN was present at the event through the participation of its partner Carla Amatetti, Università di Bologna. Carla participated in the Symposium on Public Protection and Disaster Relief – Emergency and Crisis Management to present the 6G-NTN paper titled “The Role of 6G NTN in Emergency and Crisis Management”.

IMAGINE-B5G presented a research paper on satellite-based real-time positioning with a 5G-assisted location management function.

5G-STARDUST‘s coordinating partner German Aerospace Center (DLR) presented a paper authored in the context of the project.

TrialsNet presented the paper “Trialing solutions for Security & Safety, Infrastructure, and Transportation, Supported By Smart Networks Beyond 5G”.

Tuomas Paso, University of Oulu, the SUPERIOT Administrative Coordinator, presented the project at the event. Tuomas’ presentation was in Session 2 of Symposium 4: Optical-wireless convergence: beyond Xhaul, enabling the communications-computing continuum.

The iTrust6G coordinator Mir Ghoraishi, Gigasys Solutions and the technical manager Shuaib Siddiqui, i2Cat presented in the symposium and talk about security in future networks.

The OPTI-6G presentation, titled “Optical 6G Cell-Free Networks for High-Performance Communications and Sensing in Industry 4.0,”explored the project’s cutting-edge approach to Optical Wireless Communications

Session 3 Highlights – 6G SNS JU Initiatives:
– ECO-eNET: Efficient Confluent Edge Networks – Dan Kilper, Trinity College Dublin
– 6G EWOC Project: AI-Enhanced Fibre-Wireless Optical 6G Network – Bernhard Schrenk, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology
– PROTEUS-6G: Programmable Reconfigurable Optical Transport – Ioannis Tomkos, Univ. Patras
– OPTI-6G Project-6G: Optical 6G Cell-Free Networks – John Cosmas, Brunel University of London

Other SNS projects were represented at the event including Robust-6G, Privateer, 6G-PATH

2nd International Summit on Sensors and Sensing Technology

The 2nd International Summit on Sensors and Sensing Technology (ISSST), took place on 14-16 October, 2024 in Edinburgh, UK.

The 6G-NTN Project actively participated in the event, the project coordinator Alma Mater Studiorum, Università di Bologna delivered a keynote speech on “The NTN (r)evolution” and chairs the session on “5G and 6G Network.”

The 5G-Stardust partner Alessandro Guidotti. (CNIT) gave a keynote speech on “the role of Non-Terrestrial Systems in the 6G ecosystem” and chaired the session on 5G and 6G Networks”.

Vehicular Technology Conference 2024 (VTC2024-Fall)

The 2024 IEEE 100th Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC2024-Fall) took place on 7-10 October 2024 in Washington DC, USA. This semi-annual flagship conference of IEEE Vehicular Technology Society brings together individuals from academia, government, and industry to discuss and exchange ideas in the fields of wireless, mobile, and vehicular technology.

The 6G-NTN project participated at the conference through a keynote speech and gave a presentation at the 3rd IEEE Workshop on “B5G/6G Support for Space/Air/Ground/Marine/Submarine Cooperative, Connected, and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAAVs)”, Alessandro Guidotti, University of Bologna presented on “The NTN (r)evolution,” highlighting the advancements and future trends in 6G networks and their critical role in enabling seamless mobility across all domains.

Hexa-X-II organised a 6G Workshop at the event. The workshop showcased the leading European and North American initiatives on 6G as well as present solutions and way-forwards to realize the envisioned 6G usage scenarios.

The Hexa-X-II and NGA presentations gave a state-of-play of the European and North American 6G research, representing a great opportunity to align the respective views.

PREDICT-6G also participated in the conference with two papers, namely: “Reinforcement Learning-based UL/DL Splitter for Latency Reduction in Wireless TSN Networks” and “Slice-aware Resource Allocation and Admission Control for Smart Factory Wireless Networks”. The latter was part of the Heterogeneous Networks II session.

The technical presentations on the 6G usage scenarios highlighted industrial and academic views of the applications and technical solutions to achieve the envisaged use cases, as well as potential risks and pitfalls, and potential related mitigation strategies for these.

3rd Edition of the International Conference on 6G Networking

The 3^rd Edition of the International Conference on 6G Networking (6GNet 2024) took place on 21-24 October in Paris, France.

The 6G Networking conference is a recent annual conference that covers advances in the area of 6G network design and management, encompassing enabling technologies, architectures and services.

The 5G-Stardust project presented a paper on “Multi-3GPP Connectivity Concept, Architecture and Specific Implementation Details”.

IEEE CAMAD 2024

The IEEE International Workshop on Computer Aided Modeling and Design of Communication Links and Networks (IEEE CAMAD 2024) took place on 21-23 October 2023 in Athens, Greece.

SAFE-6G technically sponsored the event and in collaboration with other 9 projects (include 6G-SANDBOX, ENVELOPPE, ECOeNET, ORIGAMI and 6G-EWOC), supported the workshop titled “Empowering 6G Networks: Workshop on Advancements in Research Infrastructures, Adaptive Frameworks, and Global Architectural Evolution” (ΑΤΗΕΝΑ 2024).

6G-INTENSE hosted a Special Session on the future of Intent-Based Networking (IBN) and its role in shaping 6G networks.

SUNRISE-6G participated in SS11: Federation of 6G Infrastructures & Experimentation Facilities in a “Network of Networks”.

6G-BRICKS organised a special session titled “Advancements and Innovations in 6G: Unveiling the Future of Intelligent Networks”.

RCR Wireless 6G Forum

The RCR Wireless 6G Forum virtual event took place on 1^st October 2024 with a variety of panel discussions, presentations and interviews on the vision, the spectrum conundrum, the 6G Networks Architectures and commercializing 6G and developing use cases.

The 6G-NTN Project Partner, Dorin Panaitopol, an Advanced Radio Access Principal Engineer at THALES SIX GTS France participated at the event with a presentation titled “Views on the NTN component of 6G”, explored potential market segments, connectivity use cases, and the design principles needed to integrate NTNs with TNs.

Hexa-X-II shared insights into the vision of the project and roadmap for a 6G platform designed with sustainability, inclusivity and trust at its core.

European Conference of Optical Communications (ECOC 2024)

The 50^th European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC2024) took place on 22-26 September in Frankfurt, Germany. The ECOC is Europe’s leading conference on optical communications, and one of the largest and most prestigious events in the field worldwide.

Latest outcomes of the SEASON project have been presented during the event.

Guillermo Carpintero (TERA6G Project coordinator) chaired the session M3F, Sensing and Microwave Photonics.

The FLEX-SCALE project coordinator, Professor Ioannis Tomkos, actively engaged in various discussions and presentations, showcasing the innovative work within the project. Robert Emmerich, Fraunhofer HHI, presented his innovative paper titled “140 GBd S-C-L-Band Transmission System Enabled by TFLN Coherent Driver Modulator and InP Coherent Receiver Engine”.

Professor Marco Ruffini, Trinity College Dublin, was invited to present his research on bandwidth-efficient fronthaul technology for Beyond 5G (B5G) networks. His talk, titled “Coexistence of Analogue Radio and Digital Coherent Transmission Over Access/Metro Networks for Bandwidth-Efficient Fronthaul Beyond 5G,” explored how different signal types can coexist within the same fibre network infrastructure. This research is part of the ECO-eNET project.

Brooklyn 6G Summit

The 2024 Brooklyn 6G Summit, the 11th edition of this annual event, took place from 23-25 October 2024 in Brooklyn, NY. The summit is jointly organized by Nokia and the NYU WIRELESS Research Center and was held on the campus of the NYU Tandon School of Engineering.

This year’s theme was “6G – From Vision to Action”. The event included keynote speeches and panel discussions. This year’s summit also included an NYU WIRELESS Open House to showcase a wide range of cutting-edge research developments. The conference also hosted an exhibition with cutting-edge demonstrations.

Speakers and presenters of the event included Colin Willcock (6G-IA), Ari Kynaslahti (Nokia), Ari Pouttu (University of Oulu), Gerhard Fettweis (TU-Dresden), Mikael Höök (Ericsson), Slawomir Stanczak (Fraunhofer HHI).

2nd Webinar of 6G Programmable Deterministic Webinar Series

The second webinar of the 6G Programmable Deterministic Webinar Series took place on Tuesday 22 October. Under the title ‘Enhancements towards management of time-sensitive networks’, it featured Peter Cavalcanti from Intel, Frank Dürr, Simon Egger and Lucas Haug from the University of Stuttgart, and Sándor Laki from Elte.

The 6G Programmable Deterministic Webinar Series is a collaborative initiative between PREDICT-6G, DESIRE6G and DETERMINISTIC6G. This quarterly series aims to delve into the intricate and transformative aspects of these sister projects, featuring expert speakers that will explore the latest developments and innovations shaping the future of 6G technology. Each session will provide in-depth information and foster key discussions for practitioners and researchers dedicated to the next generation of wireless communications.

SNS Phase 1 & 2 Workshop

On 8 October 2024 took place the SNS Call1 and 2 online Workshop on Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC), which brought together nine EU-funded projects to explore the future of 6G. This collaborative event featured cutting-edge presentations from key players like HEXA-X-II, BeGREEN, 6G-SENSES, TIMES 6G, 6G-DISAC, INSTINCT, iSEE-6G, 6G-MUSICAL and TERRAMETA.

IEEE 15th International Conference on Network of the Future

IEEE 15th International Conference on Network of the Future (NoF) 2024, took place at the CTTC in Castelldefels, Spain on 4 October 2024.

The «Building Trust in 6G: Security and Privacy Insights from Leading European Projects» panel brought together experts from many European projects: Hexa-X-II, represented by Dr. Bin Han, ACROSS, represented by Dr. Ioannis Markopoulos, HORSE represented by Professor. Fabrizio Granelli, RIGOUROUS, represented by Prof. Antonio Skarmeta and QSNP represented by Juan Morales Saez.

European funding for telecoms: presentation of the SNS JU @ Versailles University

As part of the CSF Infrastructures Numériques, the Direction Générale des Entreprises, with the support of the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research, has co-organised on 1^st October, an event to present the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU) at Versailles University in France.

The aim of this information day was to present the SNS JU to players in the French digital ecosystem. Participants had the opportunity to:

• Find out about the SNS JU’ missions and funding arrangements
• Exchange views with experts and representatives of the European Union
• Meet players from research, industry and start-ups
• Identify funding opportunities for their projects

The event welcomed experts as speakers, presenters and chairs including Colin Willcock (6G-IA), Chiara Mazzone (SNS JU), Hakima Chaouchi (Institut Mines-Télécom), Didier Bourse (Nokia).

This seminar is part of a strategic perspective on the development of information and communication technologies. It provides industry players with a unique opportunity to grasp the challenges posed by the emergence of 5G and 6G networks, and to contribute to the development of future technology roadmaps.

IMAGINE-B5G & 6G-PATH @ 130th National Congress of Firefighters of France

From 25-28 September 2024, Airbus, one of the members of the Imagine-B5G project consortium, participated in the CNSP – Congrès National des Sapeurs-Pompiers, the recognised French firefighter’s congress in Mâcon, France. This event takes place annually and is very relevant because it brings together almost 500 exhibitors and 3,000 participants.

During this event, Airbus showcased the Imagine-B5G project in its booth and, more precisely, the PPDR use case and forest fire detection.

Airbus also represented the 6G-PATH project with the presentation of a poster featuring the 6G-PATH Smart Cities Use Case focused on Security Coordination, which is led by Airbus. This use case highlights the project’s efforts in enhancing security coordination through cutting-edge telecom innovations.

5G-IANA Business Models Webinar

On 30 October 2024, 5G-IANA organised the “5G-IANA Business Models Webinar”. This workshop provided details on the envisioned business models associated with the development and provision of automotive services using the 5G-IANA platform.

The webinar, initiated by InCites Consulting, started with an overview of the 5G-IANA project and its objectives. Different scenarios for the service creation and provision showing the different roles that actors can take within the ecosystem were presented considering the ecosystem around the 5G-IANA experimentation platform. The possible business model for the exploitation of the 5G-IANA platform was presented.

Hexa-X-II 6G Architecture and Standards Workshop

On 17 October 2024, Hexa-X-II organised an online workshop on 6G Architecture and Standards.

The Workshop included projects presentations from Hexa-X-II, ADROIT-6G, PREDICT-6G, Desire-6G, ETHER, 6G-SHINE, TERA6G, 6GTandem, CENTRIC and CONFIDENTIAL6G.

The ADROIT-6G project coordinator, Professor Christos Verikoukis, ISI/ATH and the University of Patras presented the latest advancements in 6G networks through his talk on ADROIT6G: Distributed Artificial Intelligence-driven architecture for 6G networks.

Baldomero Coll-Perales, Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche, presented the 6G-SHINE project vision for architectural enablers for in-X subnetworks.

On behalf of PREDICT-6G, Sebastian Robiszsch (InterDigital), Standardisation Manager in the project, delivered the “Standardisation Assessment of a Digital Twin-Based Multi-Domain Deterministic Communications System​”.

FIDAL & 6G4S workshop Embracing Key Values and Key Values Indicators

On 25 October 2024, 6G4SOCIETY and FIDAL jointly organised a workshop titled “Embracing Key Values and Key Values Indicators”. The workshop was based on interactive dialogue and active contributions from projects working on KVIs.

The main goal of this workshop was to explore how SNS projects are working with KVIs to address these positive impacts, challenges and best practices in defining and implementing KVIs, and what are the expected outcomes from using KVIs. The idea is to do this via interactive dialogues and active contributions from partners of ongoing SNS projects that are actively working on KVIs.

This workshop was the first in a series of workshops and webinars on 6G and Sustainability to be organised in collaboration with 6G4Society. This series will take on topics, such as:

• Building consensus on the definitions of a select set of Key Values and related indicators (e.g. inclusivity, circular economy), with external experts and vertical representatives.
• Exploring approaches to validating indicators to value in ways that build public trust.
• Considering the potential for interdependent indicators from different areas of sustainability (e.g., energy efficiency with inclusivity), with external experts. Working with and moving beyond trade-offs.

Objectives:

• Gather current approaches to identifying relevant KVIs and objectives within to build a map of how and why different projects (e.g. stream B, C, D) approach value prioritisation,
• Collect challenges in defining and implementing KVIs to assess further support needs,
• Share what works well in projects working with KVIs to collect best practices,
• Clarify the expected impacts of KVI use.

6G4SOCIETY & HEXA-X-II Joint Webinar Ensuring 6G Social Acceptance

The SNS projects 6G4SOCIETY and Hexa-X-II are teaming up to organise a joint webinar to discuss how social acceptance is being integrated into 6G development.

The webinar will take place on 6 November. Speakers that will take part in the webinar include Monique Calisti and Eva Hajdok, Martel Innovate, Chiara Mazzone, SNS JU, Margot Bezzi, CyberEthics Lab. and Mikko Uusitalo, The Hexa-x-II Project Coordinator.

ICMLCN 2025 Call for Papers

The 2025 IEEE International Conference on Machine Learning for Communication and Networking (ICMLCN) invites paper submissions.

The conference will be held in Barcelona, Spain, from 26-29 May2025, which will be the second edition of this conference. ICMLCN aims at promoting fundamental and applied research of ML for designing and analyzing communication systems and networks, for developing communication protocols to support ML services, as well as for advancing distributed ML over communication networks.

The conference targets any communication and networking area, such as, but not limited to, wireless, optical, molecular, Internet, or WLAN. Submit your symposium paper for the opportunity to share your research and ideas with leading experts in the field and be a part of the historic second edition of the IEEE ICMLCN.

All papers should be submitted via EDAS and should follow the guidelines described in the Information for Authors page. The accepted papers will appear on IEEE Xplore.

IMPORTANT DATES

NetworldEurope SME Working Group – Empowering Collaboration and Showcasing Success

On 20 September 2024, the NetworldEurope SME Working Group hosted its latest meeting, which brought together SMEs from Europe and beyond. During the session, the projects FIDAL (SNS JU) and aeROS (EUCloudEdgeIoT) presented their open calls, guiding the SMEs through the different steps in the application process. Moreover, the SNS CSA 6G4Society introduced their work on societal and sustainable values in the development of 6G.

The meeting offered a valuable platform for SMEs to learn about new initiatives and funding opportunities  from some of the projects driving  innovation in the European telecommunications industry. It also provided SMEs with a space to exchange ideas and to connect with potential partners.

You can watch the full recording of the SME WG meeting here.

The “European SME expertise in 5G and beyond” Brochure 

The new edition of the “European SME expertise in 5G and beyond” brochure, which promotes the expertise of SMEs, was also discussed. The annual SME Brochure publication has become an essential tool for showcasing the experience, skills and accomplishments of the WG members, further increasing their visibility and strengthening their positioning within the telecommunications sector,  including industry leaders, policymakers, or research institutions.

The NetworldEurope SME Working Group (WG) is the voice of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the telecommunications sector. This group fosters collaboration, promotes funding opportunities, and highlights the innovation and impact of European SMEs.

Linkedin Live Event Countdown On: Future Networks Panels at Fyuz 24

The Linkedin live event “Countdown On: Future Networks Panels at Fyuz 24” took place on 25 October 2024. This event is hosted by the Telecom Infra Project (TIP), the top gathering for accelerating open and disaggregated network technologies.

Nikoleta Garini, from the 6G-XCEL project, discussed how AI is transforming networks and the future of 6G.

Paolo Monti, Chalmers University and ECO-eNET project, dived into the convergence of radio, optical, and data systems for 6G

SCoDIHNet Monthly News

The Smart Connectivity DIH Network has mainly worked on the following topics

1/ Update of the SCoDIHNet platform catalog

DIH are using technology platforms in order to develop services for end users. A catalog of platforms has been developed a few years ago, it is time to update it. Today, the catalog is encompassing 20 platforms, some of them are may be not used any longer, some new ones appear. A survey will be launched soon in order to provide an UpToDate version with useful information allowing DIH to use them.

2/ Preparation of a Webinar in the context of the SNS ICE support action

This webinar has the objective to facilitate cooperation between Technology providers (SNS JU members) and DIHs in order to accelerate the go between R&I and end users. For that purpose, SCoDIHNet has put in place a number of services supporting DIH that will be presented.

Title: How DIHs could better cooperate with technology providers?

1/ SCoDIHNet service offer presentation (Pierre-Yves Danet)

2/ DIH organisation and operation (DHI1)

3/ DIH cooperation with technology providers (DIH2)

4/ Mapping DIH and technology providers at local level (Pierre-Yves Danet)

5/ Q&R (Pierre-Yves Danet)

3/ Preparation of a podcast in the context of the SNS ICE support action

This podcast has the objective to better facilitate cooperation between Technology providers (SNS JU members) and DIHs in order to accelerate the go between R&I and end users. For that purpose, SCoDIHNet has developed the replicability initiative that provides to DIH use cases and solutions developed by SNS JU projects.

Title: How SNS project results can contribute to the digitalisation of the European industry?

1/ SNS projects use case collection and identification of replicable use cases (Claudio De Majo)

2/ The replicability assessment tool (Pierre-Yves Danet)

3/ DIH mission and operational organisation (DIH1)

4/ The use of SNS replicable use cases by DIH to develop innovative solutions for end users (DIH2)

5/ Wrap-up (Pierre-Yves Danet)