Newsflash May 2021

The 5G IA and NetWorldEurope ETP sign Collaboration Agreement

On 28^th April 2021 in Brussels, Dr Colin Willcock, Chairman of the Board of the 5G Infrastructure Association (5G IA) and Professor Rui Luis Andrade Aguiar, Chairman of NetworldEurope ETP Steering Board, co-signed a collaboration agreement to foster cooperation and synergies on European Research Activities on the ICT sector for Smart Networks and Services.  

5G IA and NetworldEurope ETP signed a collaboration agreement to facilitate research and innovation activities for beyond 5G and 6G networks as well as smart networks and services.

Although the two organizations have already enjoyed an excellent collaboration during the past years, the expected Smart Networks and Services Institutionalized Partnership requires a further strengthening and coordination of their activities. The collaboration agreement captures the mutual understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the European Research and Innovation ecosystem in the context of Horizon Europe for the next decade. It also captures the expected role of each organization in the framework of their collaboration.

The mission of 5G IA is to create the next generation of communication networks and services. Ubiquitous connectivity will enable the European industry to successfully compete on global markets, open up new innovation and business opportunities and facilitate the creation of smart networks and services for the benefit of the society.

The mission of NetworldEurope is to develop position documents on technological, research-oriented and societal issues, including an updated Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) for Europe in the communication networks domain in an open process in order to guide industrial and long-term oriented research and to provide means for future economic exploitation in global standards and the widespread deployment of communication systems and networks.

Dr. Colin Willcock, Chairman of the Board of the 5G IA, stated: “As our world becomes ever more digitised, it is vital that we collaborate across a broad range of domains and stakeholders. For this reason, this MoU is important for extending the scope and participation involved in Smart Networks and Services partnership through a closer working agreement with the NetWorldEurope ETP”.

Professor Rui Luis Andrade Aguiar, Chairman of NetWorldEurope Steering Board, said: “In an increasingly globalized world, Europe must develop a strong unified approach to lead innovation in new communication systems. This MoU formalizes the reality of strong collaboration already existing in the Smart Networks and Services partnership, by improving the communication channels between both associations.”

5G PPP projects and 5G IA participation @EuCNC / 6G Summit

5G IA “Smart Networks and Services Info Session”:

The 5G IA is pleased to invite you to the ‘Smart Networks and Services Info Session’ on 11th June, @14:30-17:30 CEST during EuCNC & 6G Summit.

This EuCNC session aims to explain the scope, objectives and structure of the European partnership on Smart Networks and Services (SNS), part of the Commission proposal for a Council regulation establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe. A key goal of the SNS Partnership will be to define and implement the research, innovation and deployment roadmaps that will enable Europe to lead in the creation of the next generation of smart network technologies and services. These 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 Partnership will also focus on the full digitization of European society including vertical industries and public administration. Thereby, the SNS Partnership targets to have a positive impact on the quality of life for European citizens and boost the European data economy.

The SNS Partnership has two main 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, as well as preparation for early market adoption of 6G technologies by the end of the decade. Mobilising a broad set of stakeholders will be key to address strategic areas of the networks and services value chain from edge- and cloud-based service provisioning to 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 including under the Recovery and Resilience Facility as well as other European programmes and facilities such as Digital Europe Programme (DEP) and InvestEU.

The Workshop (https://www.eucnc.eu/smart-networks-and-services/) consists of two sessions:

• The first one will provide information about the SNS proposal, the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), as produced by NetworldEurope and key candidate areas that could be considered for the first Work Programme.
• The second session includes a panel discussion with key stakeholders.

They will provide their views about challenges and opportunities under the SNS Partnership. The panel aims to serve as an open and interactive forum for discussion with the participants.

When you register at EuCNC | 6G Summit  https://www.eucnc.eu/registration/ please ensure that you also tick the “SNS Info Session” box.

5G PPP “5G Private Networks” Workshop:

The first edition of the workshop on “5G Private Networks” will take place on June 8th at the 2021 joint EuCNC and 6G Summit. It will be a full-day workshop (zoom room) with four sessions, two in the morning and two in the afternoon.

The online workshop is organized by 12 5G PPP projects (including Affordable5G, FUDGE-5G, 5G-VINNI, 5G-RECORDS, 5GROWTH, 5G-CLARITY, 5G-SMART, 5G-TOURS, 5G-INDUCE, 5G-Solutions, 5G-VICTORI, PriMO-5G) working on 5G Non-Public Networks (NPNs) and recognised experts in this area. The workshop will provide a holistic view of NPNs, covering vertical use cases, operation aspects, business models, trials, and emerging technologies.

A private 5G network, known as Non-Public Network (NPN) in 3GPP terminology, allows the use of 5G technologies to create a dedicated network with unified connectivity, optimised services, and a secure means of communication within a specific area. A private network can be run either by the company itself or a third party, based on the same or different spectrum owned by mobile network operators.

The workshop will be organised as follows:

• Session 1: Vertical Use Cases for 5G NPNs
• Session 2: Vertical Use Cases for 5G NPNs (continuation) and Panel Discussion
  Panel on “Challenges w.r.t building and operating 5G NPNs”
• Session 3: Operation of 5G NPNs
• Session 4: Emerging Technologies for 5G NPNs

You can find the full agenda and more information about the workshop here.

Registrations for the EuCNC/6G Summit are open on its official website.

COREnect Workshop “Hardware Enabling Technologies for 6G Networks” – June 8^th  14:00 – 17:30 CEST

The programme is available at: https://www.eucnc.eu/workshops/workshop-2/

Combining insights and expertise from the communication and microelectronics domain, the three expert groups will address three key areas and share their sector-specific views points on:

a) Electronics for Trustworthy Communication (6G and beyond),

b) Future Core Technologies and Integration and

c) Energy-efficient, Green Communication Electronics.

The Workshop will also include a panel discussion on  ”Opportunities and Challenges for hardware enabling technologies in the SNS Partnership”.

COREnect Panel “Components and Hardware on the Road to 6G” – June 10^th 11:30 – 13:00 CEST

COREnect is developing a cross-industry technology roadmap of core component and subsystem technologies for the evolution of 5G towards 6G. The strategic goal of the project is to help diversify and reduce European dependence on other continents when building up future connectivity systems. This panel will elaborate on the first COREnect’s findings and results related to the expected role of microelectronics in 6G. Ideas and recommendations on strategic measures to address these challenges, as well as the potential roles of the various stakeholders in such future 6G ecosystems (e.g., industry, SMEs, academia, associations, public authorities, etc.), will also be discussed.

The programme is available at: https://www.eucnc.eu/panel-2/

5GZORRO @EuCNC & 6G Summit

5GZORRO is working on Zero-touch automation, security and trust among multiple parties through blockchains, network slicing across various domains, ubiquitous computing and connectivity for multi-operator 5G networks, Distributed Ledgers for Telcos.

5GZORRO partners have prepared a series of very relevant contributions and activities in this context:

-Two conference papers will be presented:

• ‘Blockchain-Based Zero Touch Service Assurance in Cross-Domain Network Slicing’

Authors partners: Intracom Telecom, Greece; IBM I, Israel; Fundació i2CAT, Spain; Ubiwhere, Portugal; Fondazione Bruno Kessler, BARTR, UK.

• ‘Multi-Party Collaboration in 5G Networks via DLT-Enabled Marketplaces: A Pragmatic Approach’

Authors partners: Fundació i2CAT, Spain; Nextworks, Italy; BARTR, UK; Altice Labs, Portugal; University of Murcia, Spain; Telefonica, Spain.

5GZORRO will contribute to Session 1: Security and Trust Architecture for Beyond 5G Networks in Workshop 8: From 5G to 6G Automated and Intelligent SecuriTy: FAST

Tuesday 8 June 2021, 9:30-11:00, Zoom Room

5GZORRO will chair and present Special Session 8: Autonomous Network Management towards 6G.

Friday, 11 June 2021, 09:30-11:00, Zoom Room.

5G-LOGINNOV and 5GMETA Workshop on ‘Connectivity and Beyond: How the 5G Ecosystem Empowers the Port, Logistics and Automotive Industries’ @EuCNC & 6G Summit

The European H2020 projects 5GMETA and 5G-LOGINNOV organise a Workshop on ‘Connectivity and Beyond: How the 5G ecosystem Empowers the Port, Logistics and Automotive Industries’ on June 8th, 9:30-11:00/11:30-13:00 CEST @EuCNC & 6G Summit 2021.

The programme is available here.

Registrations are available here.

More information about the event here.

New 5G PPP webinar videos released!

The first video, entitled “Edge Computing – Industry Vertical Viewpoints”, was held on 20 April 2021, while the second one, “3GPP Standards on Edge Computing”, was held on 22 April 2021.

Both videos are available on the 5G PPP Video Channel, on the 5G PPP YouTube channel, and are directly accessible at https://youtu.be/uI55CDqAz7M and https://youtu.be/k3jvI5qeJZ4.

5G PPP White Paper on ‘AI and ML – Enablers for Beyond 5G Networks’

This white paper is based on contributions from almost 20 5G PPP projects, coordinated through the 5G PPP Technology Board, that research, implement and validate 5G and B5G network systems.

The white paper introduces the main relevant mechanisms in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), currently investigated and exploited for 5G and B5G networks. A family of neural networks is presented which are, generally speaking, non-linear statistical data modelling and decisionmaking tools. They are typically used to model complex relationships between input and output parameters of a system or to find patterns in data. Feed-forward neural networks, deep neural networks, recurrent neural networks, and convolutional neural networks belong to this family. Reinforcement learning is concerned about how intelligent agents must take actions in order to maximize a collective reward, e.g., to improve a property of the system. Deep reinforcement learning combines deep neural networks and has the benefit that is can operate on non-structured data. Hybrid solutions are presented such as combined analytical and machine learning modelling as well as expert knowledge aided machine learning. Finally, other specific methods are presented, such as generative adversarial networks and unsupervised learning and clustering.

In the sequel the white paper elaborates on use case and optimisation problems that are being tackled with AI/ML, partitioned in three major areas namely, i) Network Planning, ii) Network Diagnostics/Insights, and iii) Network Optimisation and Control. In Network Planning, attention is given to AI/ML assisted approaches to guide planning solutions.

Read more here.

White Paper on ‘Service performance measurement methods over 5G experimental networks’ from TMV WG

Read the full paper short or long versions by clicking on the links.

The European Annual Journal 2021 is out!

COVID-19 has been and still is a tremendous challenge for all people on the planet and has also impacted our constituency. Many activities within the 5G PPP could somewhat advance thanks to remote access to labs and online conferencing. However, we saw delays in most projects particularly as we are in the third phase of the 5G PPP with many trial and demonstrator activities.

Nonetheless, R&I initiatives on 6G technologies are now starting in leading regions worldwide, with the first products and infrastructures expected for the end of this decade. In January 2021, a first set of 6G projects was launched, worth 60 million EUR under the 5G PPP with the Hexa-X flagship developing a first 6G system concept complemented by 8 projects investigating specific technologies for 6G, putting Europe on a par with our global competitors. In February 2021, the Commission adopted a legislative proposal for the upcoming European partnership on Smart Networks and Services (SNS) towards 6G, the successor of our 5G PPP.

Download the Journal here.

CfP – 5G-EPICENTRE and 5GMediaHUB Workshop ‘5G experimentation facilities, vertical trials and cross-testbed service orchestration’ @MeditCom

As a result of almost a decade of research, 5G services are gradually being rolled out while facilities for 5G experimentation have come in various shapes and sizes. Such developments have opened up new possibilities for a broad range of vertical sectors, delivering transformative impact in terms of ultra-highspeed connectivity. Moving forward, the federation of constituent 5G testbed platforms will enable infrastructure owners to greatly reduce complexity, particularly for SMEs in the targeted vertical industries, by enabling cross-testbed and cross-site management and orchestration via carefully defined software interfaces. Such interfaces should ideally allow testbeds to federate without losing control of their individual resources; enable the calibration of individual testbed components from a singular control point; allow experimenters to combine the available resources to achieve different 5G experimentation conditions of varying scale and diversity; and ensure these configurations are easily repeatable by supporting reproducible experimentation conditions.

This workshop represents a coordinated initiative by 5G PPP ICT-41 projects 5G MediaHUB and 5G-EPICENTRE, which will enable stakeholders in the 5G ecosystem to understand existing and future challenges in cross-site 5G testbed unification, identify key tasks ahead and evaluate the current state of the art in the specific domain. The workshop will thus facilitate timely collection of related work as well as latest updates toward the benefit of telecommunications and networking researchers and practitioners, encouraging the contribution of both original research work and survey papers addressing the topics discussed.

• Federated 5G architectures for experimentation and KPI validation
• APIs for 5G testbed federation
• Use cases for testbed federation
• Cross-testbed / cross-site experimentation
• ML/AI tools for KPI analysis and validation
• Vertical NetApp design and deployment
• Combining underlying testbed hardware and software components
• Cross-testbed MANO APIs
• Reproducible experimentation conditions for 5G experimentation

The conference proceedings will be published in IEEE Xplore.

Important Dates:

Paper Submissions Due: 21 May 2021
Acceptance Notification: 21 June 2021
Camera-Ready Submission: 21 July 2021

Conference Chairs
Khaled B. Letaief, HKUST, Hong Kong
Christos Verikoukis, CTTC, Spain

Workshop Chairs
George Margetis, FORTH, Greece (5G MediaHUB Project)

Konstantinos C. Apostolakis, FORTH, Greece (5G-EPICENTRE Project)