European Commission and European ICT community present a new 900million Euro joint undertaking to develop 6G in Europe
European Commission and European ICT community present a new 900million Euro joint undertaking to develop 6G in Europe
Brussels – June 22nd, 2021 – The workshop[1], which took place online on 11th June at the joint EuCNC & 6G Summit, presented the objectives and structure of the new European Joint Undertaking (JU) on Smart Networks and Services (SNS). The goal of the SNS Partnership will be to define and implement the research, innovation and deployment roadmaps that will enable Europe to take a leading role in the creation of the next generation of smart network technologies and services which will be known as 6G.
The SNS JU partnership will focus on facilitating the full digitization of European society including vertical industries and public administration services. The 6G SNS solutions will be designed and implemented in such a way that European values like security and privacy are safeguarded, and that European technological sovereignty is further strengthened. The SNS Partnership targets to have a perceptible positive impact on the quality of life for European citizens and a noticeable boost in the European data economy by 2030.
The SNS JU partnership has the following objectives, namely:
- Fostering Europe’s technological sovereignty in 6G by implementing the related research and innovation (R&I) programme leading to the conception and standardisation around 2025, providing solutions fitting with societal European needs and values, as well as preparation for early market adoption of 6G technologies by the end of the decade.
- Mobilising a broad set of stakeholders to address strategic areas of the networks and services value chain from edge- and cloud-based service to provide new market opportunities in new components and devices beyond smartphones.
- Boosting 5G deployment in Europe in view of developing digital lead markets and of enabling the digital and green transition of the economy and society. For this objective, the JU will coordinate strategic guidance for the relevant programmes under the Connecting Europe Facility, in particular 5G Corridors. It will also contribute to the coordination with national programmes (e.g., under the Recovery and Resilience Facility) as well as other European programmes and facilities such as Digital Europe Programme (DEP) and InvestEU.
More information about the SNS Partnership can be found at https://5g-ia.eu/sns-horizon-europe/.
Peter Stuckmann, the Head of Unit – Future Connectivity Systems, DG CONNECT in the European Commission and Dr. Colin Willcock (Chairman of the 5G IA), as the representative of the private side in the SNS JU partnership, presented the European vision for the 6G initiative and discussed the current status of the SNS Partnership and the next steps.
The first calls for project proposals under this new SNS JU are expected to be launched later this year, with the first projects starting later in 2022.
During the session it was indicated that the 5G IA has a continuous open call for new members to join. The process is fully open for all stakeholders from the large industry, SMEs, Research and Academia but also other Associations. The only requirement is that organizations have a clear research activity and a seat in one of the EU Member States, or Associated, or candidate countries. The 5G IA is especially interested to invite verticals to join its ranks as the new SNS Programme is placing a strong focus in this area. More information on how to join the 5G IA can be found at https://5g-ia.eu/about/5g-ia-membership-application/
About the 5G Infrastructure Association
The 5G Public Private Partnership (5G PPP) is the 5G collaborative research program that is organized as part of the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 program – The European Union Program for Research and Innovation. It is aimed at fostering industry-driven research, monitored by business-related, technological performance and societal KPIs. The 5G PPP will deliver solutions, architectures, technologies and standards for ubiquitous next-generation communication infrastructure over the coming decade.
In the 5G PPP, the 5G Infrastructure Association (5G IA) represents the private side and the European Commission the public side. The 5G IA is committed to the advancement of 5G in Europe and to building global consensus on 5G. To this aim, the Association brings together a global industry community of telecoms & digital actors, such as operators, manufacturers, research institutes, universities, verticals, SMEs and ICT associations. The 5G IA carries out a wide range of activities in strategic areas including standardization, frequency spectrum, R&D projects, technology skills, collaboration with key vertical industry sectors, notably for the development of trials, and international cooperation.
In the context of Horizon Europe, the 5G IA, together with other leading ICT organisations, submitted a proposal for an Institutionalised Partnership, called Smart Networks and Services (SNS)[2]. Upon successful completion of the legislative process, the 5G IA will be the signing counterpart of the Partnership with the EU in this strategic technology domain for Europe for which a total of 900 Meuro have been earmarked for the 2021-2027 period for 6G and Smart Networks related research activities.
Website: https://5g-ia.eu
Twitter: @5GPPP
Media contact: Alessandro Bedeschi, Head of Office, alessandro.bedeschi@5g-ppp.eu
[1] https://www.eucnc.eu/smart-networks-and-services/
[2] https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/research_and_innovation/funding/documents/ec_rtd_he-partnership_smart-networks-services.pdf
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