Nokia said that the Hexa-X-II initiative has been awarded funding from the European Commission
Nokia announced that it will lead the Hexa-X-II project, the second phase of the European 6G flagship initiative.
In a release, Nokia noted that this new phase will expand the Hexa-X partner list to 44 organizations that are tasked with creating the pre-standardized platform and system view that will form the basis for many inputs into future 6G standardization.
The Hexa-X-II initiative has been awarded funding from the European Commission. The goal of both Hexa-X and Hexa-X-II is to establish Europe as leader in future 6G systems.
Nokia also said that Hexa-X-II members range from network vendors and communication service providers to verticals and technology providers, as well as the main European communications research institutes.
Peter Vetter, president of Nokia’s Bell Labs Core Research, said: “In the 6G era, the digital, physical and human worlds will become far more integrated. Our goals must reflect this level of integration and inter-dependency. As billions more people and devices get connected, urbanization intensifies, and we strive to manage the limitations on energy and materials, the role of networks and 6G will only deepen. It is essential that we keep the larger context in mind as we imagine the new network.”
The Hexa-X-II consortium will research technologies that contribute to a zero-carbon footprint and limit energy and material consumption, while it aims to provide connectivity to people in developing countries as well as to the under-privileged members of developed societies. Hexa-X-II will also ensure data transparency, security and privacy as well as network robustness, Nokia said.
Ericsson takes the role as technical manager for Hexa-X-II while Orange, TIM, TU Dresden, University of Oulu, IMEC and Atos will help coordinate various work packages such as radio evolution and innovation, future devices and flexible infrastructure, smart network management and values and requirements and ecosystem.
The Hexa-X-II project aims to start work on January 1, 2023, with a planned duration of two and a half years.
In addition to Hexa-X-II and Hexa-X, Nokia also leads 6G-ANNA, the German 6G lighthouse project.
As part of the initiative, Nokia will work closely with the consortium, which includes partners from industry, startups, research institutes and universities in Germany.
Within 6G-ANNA, Nokia will focus on designing an end-to-end 6G architecture and work with other project partners on three key technology areas: 6G access, network of networks, and automation and simplification. Selected topics such as sub-networks, XR and real-time digital twinning will be implemented and presented as proof of concepts.
Mikko Uusitalo, head of Radio Systems Research Finland at Nokia Bell Labs and lead for European 6G Flagship Hexa-X, previously told RCR Wireless News that 5G Advanced is expected to develop 5G to its fullest capabilities and is an important stepping stone for some of the use case capabilities that the industry wants to enable at a larger scale in the 6G era.
“With 5G-Advanced, AI/ML will be introduced to many parts of the network at many layers and in many functions. From the optimization of beam forming in the radio layer to scheduling at the cell site with self-optimizing networks, all using AI/ML to achieve better performance at lower complexity. In 6G, Nokia expects AI/ML will go from an enhancement to a foundation by taking a clean slate approach, where we do away with the complexity, and let AI/ML figure out how to best communicate between two endpoints,” Uusitalo said.
Commenting on the potential features of future 6G networks, he noted that in the 6G era, the digital, physical and human world will seamlessly fuse to trigger extrasensory experiences. Uusitalo highlighted that Intelligent knowledge systems will be combined with robust computation capabilities to make humans endlessly more efficient.
