Excellent results of the CTTC in the first call of the Smart Network and Services (SNS) Partnership Workprogramme of Horizon Europe, which aims to progress towards the definition of the future 6G communication systems to be deployed worldwide by 2030. Specifically, it has been awarded with 8 R&D projects for a total financial support of 3.5 Meuro for the CTTC. The topics comprehend a broad set of 6G communication challenges including AI for secure open or ultra-low power network architectures, satellite and terrestrial radio access integration for distributed and ubiquitous services, non-terrestrial networks, flexible and scalable networks, or sustainability and energy efficiency. The projects are:
- 5G – Satellite TerrestriAl integrated Radio access towards Distributed and Ubiquituous Services for the society (5G-STARDUST)
- 6G Non-terrestrial Networks (6G-NTN)
- Automated zero-touch cross-layer provisioning framework for 5G and beyond vertical services (ACROSS)
- Flexibly Scalable Energy Efficient Networking (FLEX-SCALE)
- A holistic flagship towards the 6G network platform and system, to inspire digital transformation, for the world to act together in meeting needs in society and ecosystems with novel 6G services (HEXA-X-II)
- SElf-mAnaged Sustainable high-capacity Optical Networks (SEASON)
- Smart Networks and Services International and European Cooperation Ecosystem (ICE)
- AI-powered eVolution towards opEn and secuRe edGe architEctures (VERGE)
and they are set to start in early 2023.
CTTC also has a long record track of participation in Horizon 2020 projects and, specifically, those under the umbrella of the 5G Public-Private Partnership (5G-PPP). Throughout Horizon 2020 (2014-2020), it ranked the second R&D centre in Europe and the first in Spain in terms of funding and number of projects awarded. CTTC participates in the Governing Board of the 6G Industrial Association (6G-IA) where the overall strategy and contents of Europe’s 6G R&D roadmap are defined.