From May 19–22, 2026, CTTC in Castelldefels, Barcelona hosts the ETSI F5G-F2F#26 Meeting co-located with the TFS#9 Hackfest, bringing together key stakeholders in next-generation fixed and transport networks. The event features three sessions: F5GTEST-F2F#08 (May 19 morning), F5G-F2F#26 (May 19 afternoon–May 22 midday), and a joint F5G–TFS session (May 21 afternoon). ETSI ISG F5G defines next-gen architectures and promotes full-fibre connectivity for high-reliability, low-latency services, while SDG TeraFlow drives SDN innovation with cloud-native frameworks, automation, AI-driven optimisation, and multi-domain network management. CTTC provides a collaborative environment to advance standardisation and accelerate future network technologies.

Dr. Israat Haque from Dalhousie University will present a CTTC Seminar on building secure, intelligent networking systems using programmable networking. The talk covers how emerging technologies like in-network computing and smart NICs enable advanced security functions (e.g., IoT classification, malicious traffic rejection) that traditional fixed-function approaches cannot efficiently provide. It also addresses challenges and solutions for next-generation security systems, discusses data-driven programmable 5G systems for enhanced RAN resilience, and concludes with perspectives on future network design in the AI, IoT, and 6G era.

Welcome to Barcelona for IEEE ICASSP 2026, the world’s leading signal processing conference, which brings together more than 5,690 participants and places AI at the heart of this year’s theme, “Where Signals Meet Intelligence.” From May 4 to 8, the program explores research, industry, innovation, education, networking, and societal impact.