Europe is funding 5 proposals aimed at boosting 6G

Europe is aiming to be a major player in 6G development, and as part of that, the European Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU) has selected five proposals to receive €22 million (roughly £18.5 million) in funding.

These proposals are all aimed at aiding 6G development, including key needs like connected device ecosystems and – yes – AI.

So what are the proposals in question? Well, there’s 6G-AID, which aims to build a European data foundation for AI-powered 6G networks. It intends to do this through developing an open-source simulator to create synthetic datasets, as well as providing curated real-world datasets.

Using AI to power 6G networks will in theory allow for more reliable, self-optimising networks, which for users could mean higher speeds, lower latency, and fewer dropouts.

Faster development through closer cooperation

Next up there’s HEMES-6G, which could help speed up the development and deployment of 6G by bringing together eight testbed sites across six countries.

Then there’s EUNICON-6G, which is focused on 6G’s role in powering connected devices beyond smartphones. This could boost the development and use of things like autonomous vehicles, connected industrial tools, and more, while reducing dependency on tech from non-European nations.

EU-INDIA-6G-BRIDGE was another winning proposal, with this aiming to bring closer cooperation with India on 6G development and standardisation.

Finally, there’s SNS IMPACT, which is aimed at supporting and facilitating cross-project coordination, to help ensure that research findings from European teams can directly shape international 6G standards. 

Between these – and other 6G projects like those carried out by Ericsson and Nokia – Europe is poised to have a significant role in the development and standardisation of 6G. And hopefully that expertise will translate into faster and smoother 6G rollouts too when the time comes – likely in or around 2030.