Workshop: Future Core - New Potential to Connect Everything Intelligently, 19 September 2024
2024-09-19 09:00 - 12:30 (Europe/Berlin)
Rationale and Objectives
The Workshop “Future Core – New Potential to Connect Everything Intelligently” took place on the morning of the 19th September 2024, organized by NetworldEurope and CCSA. The hybrid event had 2 components, one onsite in Shanghai and the other online, with the respective zoom link available upon registration. The workshop aims to provide an open information space to share current and future views about the network Core of the future, and how this theme is being addressed by different stakeholders. Two different discussion panels are organized, addressing challenges and evolution, new use cases and technology trends as well as standardization and next step industry developments related to Future Core Networks.
The workshop will feature key speakers from industry and academia, representing the views of manufacturers, operators, industry bodies, and research scientists.
The agenda was as follows:

See the workshop report here
See the presentations here
See the videos here Workshop Moderators and Speakers Prof. Rui L. Aguiar, Chair of the Steering Board of the NetworldEurope European Technology Platform, has been involved in research and strategic research management since 1988, having been involved (in multiple positions) in all European-funded framework programs. He was involved in the development of the NetworldEurope initiative, and the launch of the 5G-Infrastructure Association PPP, and has led the association before. He has been an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer on 5G in the last years, and has several hundred papers on communication networks and services. He is also the co-chair of the Networks and Multimedia area at Instituto de Telecomunicações, a Portuguese state-associated laboratory, and a Full Professor at Universidade de Aveiro. WEN Ku, Board Chair of China Communications Standardization Association (CCSA), Professor of Engineering. He is entitled to the special government allowance of The State Council. He used to take positions in succession as Deputy Chief Engineer of Posts and Telecommunications Administration, Director of Data Communication Administration of Shandong Province, Deputy Director General of the Department of Science and Technology of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, Deputy Director General of the Department of Science and Technology, Deputy Director General of the Telecommunications Administration, Director General of the Department of Science and Technology of the Ministry of Information Industry, Director General of the Department of Science and Technology, Director General of the Department of Information and Communication Development and News Spokesman of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Mr. Duan Xiaodong is a professor-level senior engineer and vice president of China Mobile Research Institute, leader of IMT-2030(6G) Network Technology Working Group in China. He has long been engaged in IPv6 and next-generation Internet, 5G/6G network architecture, computility network and new intelligent computing. He leads the China Mobile standardization team for IETF, 3GPP SA/CT, and IEEE. He has made remarkable achievements in scientific and technological innovation, obtained more than 50 authorized patents, and has many scientific and technological awards. Jean Schwoerer holds a PhD in electronics and communication systems from the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Rennes (France) since 2006. Subsequently, his research work focused on the connectivity of the Internet of Things and cellular networks. He was also strongly involved in standardization for the Orange group for which he was delegated to ETSI, IEEE802 and 3GPP RAN1&2 where he contributed to the standardization of 5G and IoT connectivity. He is now mainly involved in the preparation of 6G within Orange Research, as co- editor of NGMN 6G white paper and as member of the 6G-IA board. Dr. Wen Tong is the CTO, Huawei Wireless. He is the head of Huawei wireless research. In 2011, Dr. Tong was appointed the Head of Communications Technologies Labs of Huawei, currently, he is the Huawei 5G chief scientist and led Huawei’s 10-year-long 5G wireless technologies research and development.
Prior to joining Huawei in 2009, Dr. Tong was the Nortel Fellow and head of the Network Technology Labs at Nortel. He joined the Wireless Technology Labs at Bell Northern Research in 1995 in Canada.
Dr. Tong is the industry recognized leader in invention of advanced wireless technologies, Dr. Tong was elected as a Huawei Fellow and an IEEE Fellow. He was the recipient of IEEE Communications Society Industry Innovation Award in 2014, and IEEE Communications Society Distinguished Industry Leader Award for “pioneering technical contributions and leadership in the mobile communications industry and innovation in 5G mobile communications technology” in 2018. He is also the recipient of R.A. Fessenden Medal. For the past three decades, he had pioneered fundamental technologies from 1G to 5G wireless with more than 530 awarded US patents.
Dr. Tong is a Fellow of Canadian Academy of Engineering, and he serves as Board of Director of Wi-Fi Alliance. Patrik Rugeland is a Master Researcher at Ericsson Research, Stockholm Sweden and is the Technical Manager of the Hexa-X-II project. He received his M.Sc. in engineering physics in 2009 and Ph.D. in applied physics in 2013 from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden. In 2014 he joined Ericsson Research, Stockholm and has since been working on standardization and concept development for LTE-Advanced and NR with a focus on radio network architecture and protocols towards 3GPP RAN2. He currently holds more than 90 patents in the area. and is the co-editor for the book ‘Towards Sustainable and Trustworthy 6G: Challenges, Enablers, and Architectural Design’. In 2019, he started on 6G research and was the Technical Manager for the Hexa-X project during 2021-2022 before joining Hexa-X-II as Technical Manager in 2023. Dr. Jose Costa-Requena received his Doctor of Technology degree from Aalto University on the field of networking. Jose has worked for more than 25 years concurrently both at Aalto University and at Nokia. He has gained experience in managing the development of complex end-to-end systems and large multi-site projects with 100s of developers. Jose was part of Nokia patent board for several years and holds 15+ granted patents and 40+ filed applications in the area of local area networks and mobile networks and received award of top 3 inventor of the year 2004-2007. While at Nokia he has contributed to 3GPP since Rel 5 and was chair of DLNA and UPnP working groups. Jose is currently CUMUCORE CEO and Aalto staff scientist where he has published several journals and articles in the field of computer networking. Ms. Qun WEI, Vice Chair of 3GPP TSG SA1, Chief Representative of China Unicom standard activities, Project Manager of China Unicom Research Institute，Rapporteur and Editor of 3GPP, CCSA and GSMA. Ms Wei has been responsible for many important technical improvements from 2 / 3G to 4 / 5G networks. Her work covers a wide range of fields, including mobile network, IP Multimedia Subsystem, service platform, PSTN / SS, etc., She also has extensive experience in network technology evolution and service quality improvement, including HNB/HeNB, VoLTE/RCS/VoWiFi, Multi device, FMC technology, etc. Her recent contribution focus on 5G/6G network technology, and she serves as the SA1 rapporteur for 9 WIDs, including 5GVSC, EAV, DI_5G, NetShare, and Residence related. Dr Diego R. Lopez joined Telefónica in 2011 as a Senior Technology Expert, and he is currently in charge of the Technology Exploration activities within the GCTIO Unit. Before joining Telefónica he spent some years in the academic sector, dedicated to research on network services, and was appointed member of the High-Level Expert Group on Scientific Data Infrastructures by the European Commission.
Diego is currently focused on applied research in network infrastructures, with a special emphasis on data-driven management, new architectures, security, and quantum communications. Diego is an ETSI Fellow and chairs the ETSI ISG ZSM. Jizhe Zhou received the B.S. degree in Electronic and Information Engineering from the Beihang University, China, in 2015, the M.S. degree in Computer Science from the Columbia University, USA, in 2017, and PhD degree in Information and Communication Engineering from the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (BUPT), China, in 2021. She is currently an engineer with China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT). She is a member of the Wireless Technical Committee of China Communications Standards Association (CCSA), IMT-2020(5G) Promotion Group, and IMT-2030(6G) Promotion Group in China. She is also a senior member of China Institute of Communications. Her main research interests include next-generation network architecture, edge intelligence, and computing-aware networks. Mr. Xu Xia graduated in 2005 from Chonbuk National University (South Korea) with a Master of Science degree in Information and Communication. He has been with China Telecom Research Institute since 2012 and his activities mainly focus on core network innovation. Currently he is Standards Director heading researches and standardization for 6G, B5G, and Industry convergence. He has made extensive contributions to GSMA, CCSA and 5GAA standards and holds the role of vice chair of 3GPP SA1. He has also served on keynotes, program and organization committees of numerous leading wireless and networking conferences. Mr. Xuemin Wang, Vice President of Huawei European Research Institute, Director of Huawei Europe Standardization & Industry Dept
Mr. Xuemin Wang, joined in Huawei in 1995, served as Project Manager of Huawei B-Type Circuit Switching product, Vice General Manager of Product Testing Department, Vice General Manager of General Technical Management Office, Director of Standardization & Industry Dept, etc. Currently served as the Vice President of European Research Institute and also the Director of Europe Standardization & Industry Development Dept, responsible for implementing standard and industry strategy for European regions.
Also served as IIC Steering Committee member China Electronics Standardization association（CESA ）Vice Chair of Board of Director, CCSA board member, etc., for the aim of building nice communication channels with external organizations, partners and customers in the multi-level standardization and industry development environment.

International Workshop on System Architectures of Future Core Networks, 6 November 2024
2024-11-06 09:00 - 16:00
A full day International Workshop on System Architectures of Future Core Networks was organized between NetworldEurope and Deutsche Telekom in Berlin on 6th of November 2024.
The mobile core network has evolved across multiple generations. Notwithstanding while there are lots of research and discussion on the radio access network evolution, the attention of the community is much less oriented to the vision, value proposition, and architecture of the future core network. This workshop aimed to create a forum for exchange of information and ideas specifically on the core network, the expected system evolution including cloud and security/trust management. This is the proper time to reflect, before the subject becomes mainstream in the standardization fora. The workshop discussed what features and capabilities are needed and its future standardization path (and not necessarily only 3GPP). A key objective is to ultimately contribute to the alignment on the stakeholder view on future core networks and provide indications for promising innovation paths.
The workshop also needed to address cloud related issues in conjunction with security/trust management and sustainability, given the ongoing virtualization trends in the industry.
The interactive workshop brought together some 25 international experts from Operators, Vendors, Hyperscalers, and Academia to discuss their different views on the subject matter. The workshop report can be found here

NetworldEurope General Assembly, 16 December 2024
2025-01-09 08:00 - 17:00
The NetworldEurope General Assembly took place 16 December 2024 as a virtual meeting.
The agenda includes a short overview of some very relevant activities in Europe, by leading experts, and a second part on the activities of NetworldEurope and the future views inside Europe. It is an exciting (albeit compressed) vision of some of the best Europe is doing at this moment!
The agenda was the following:

Workshop: How advanced communications can support sustainability goals, 21 January 2025
2025-01-21 09:30 - 13:00
Rationale and Objectives
The Workshop “How advanced communications can support sustainability goals” took place on the morning of the 21st January 2025, jointly organized by NetworldEurope and the Alliance for AI, IoT and Edge Continuum Innovation (AIOTI) and was available online only. The workshop aimed to provide an open information space to share current and future views on “How advanced communications can support sustainability goals” and hopefully empower each one of us with the knowledge, tools and inspiration needed to make sustainable choices that can impact our work, community and the planet. Two different discussion panels were organized, with Panel 1 addressing “Advanced communications contributing to sustainability” and Panel 2 addressing “AI, IoT and Edge Continuum improving the performance of digital society”.
The workshop featured key speakers from industry and academia, representing the views of manufacturers, operators, industry bodies, and research scientists.
This workshop was open to the public and there was no need to register.
The final agenda was as follows:

See the workshop report here
See the presentations here
See the videos here Workshop moderators and speakers Prof. Rui L. Aguiar, Chair of the Steering Board of the NetworldEurope European Technology Platform, has been involved in research and strategic research management since 1988, having been involved (in multiple positions) in all European-funded framework programs. He was involved in the development of the NetworldEurope initiative, and the launch of the 5G-Infrastructure Association PPP, and has led the association before. He has been an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer on 5G in the last years, and has several hundred papers on communication networks and services. He is also the co-chair of the Networks and Multimedia area at Instituto de Telecomunicações, a Portuguese state-associated laboratory, and a Full Professor at Universidade de Aveiro. Damir FILIPOVIC For over 25 years, Damir has combined experience in the public and private sectors in technology, research, innovation and regulation. Damir started his career in the Croatian Ministry of Communication. From 2000, he was leading regulatory and wholesale business units in Deutsche Telekom and Telekom Austria Croatian subsidiaries. Damir has founded several startup companies and successfully run them. Since 2008, he has worked in Brussels, first in Telekom Austria, then in DIGITALEUROPE and Samsung, covering research and innovation, standardisation, IP and copyright, trade and customs, digital transformation, privacy and security, accessibility, spectrum and compliance with the EU regulation. Damir founded Creative Intelligence in 2017. Damir holds an MSc in engineering from the University of Zagreb. He is fluent in Croatian, Serbian and English with knowledge of French, German, Spanish and Italian. Chiara Mazzone is a Programme Officer at the Smart Networks and Services JU (SNS JU), the Joint Undertaking which facilitates and develops European industrial leadership on 5G and 6G. She also coordinates the JU communication activities and serves as the reference point for sustainability topics.
With over 15 years of experience spanning both public and private sectors at local and EU levels, Chiara has developed deep expertise in technology, investment and policy.
In the private sector, she gained hands-on experience in company project management at Vodafone Group and got insights into the latest business, research and technology developments.
During her tenure at the EU Commission, she contributed to shaping EU investments in start-ups and emerging technologies such as Fintech, Blockchain, and 5G. As part of DG CONNECT Telecoms Investment Unit, she contributed in establishing the Connecting Europe Digital Facility and funding 5G deployment in local communities.
Chiara was also part of the EU negotiating team for Resilience and Recovery Funds, focusing on digital reforms and investments. Earlier in her career, she worked with French regional and local authorities, helping universities and businesses secure EU Research & Innovation and ICT funding while leading the Région Sud EU Office. She also supported a Director General in a French local authority and lectured on Administrative Law at Sciences Po Paris, where she earned her degree in EU Affairs, Law, and Economics. Luis M. Contreras (https://lmcontreras.com/) holds an M.Sc. in Telecommunications from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (1997), an M. Sc. in Telematics jointly from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (2010), and a Ph.D. in Telematics from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (2021). In 1997 he joined Alcatel Spain taking several positions (R&D, standardization, product development and customer engineering) in both wireless and fixed network fields. In 2006 he joined the network planning department of Orange in Spain taking responsibilities for the IP backbone planning. Between 2002 and 2010 he was also adjunct lecturer at the Telematics Department of the Universidad Carlos III. Since August 2011 he is part of Telefónica Innovación / Telefónica Global CTO, working on scalable networks and their interaction with cloud and distributed services, and participating in several projects (lately PREDICT-6G, DESIRE-6G, 6GREEN, Exigence, FLECON-6G or UNITY-6G). He is an active contributor to different SDOs, such as IETF (co-chairing CCAMP WG), O-RAN, ETSI, etc. Symeon Papavassiliou is currently a Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the National Technical University of Athens and Director of the Network Management and Optimal Design Laboratory (NETMODE) at NTUA. From 1995 to 1999, he was a senior technical staff member at AT&T Laboratories, New Jersey. In August 1999 he joined the ECE Department at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, USA, where he was an Associate Professor until 2004. He has an established record of publications in his field of expertise, with more than 450 technical journal and conference published papers. His main research interests lie in the area of computer communication networks, with emphasis on the analysis, optimization, and performance evaluation of mobile and distributed systems, wireless networks, and complex systems. He received the Best Paper Award in IEEE INFOCOM 94, the AT&T Division Recognition and Achievement Award in 1997, the US National Science Foundation Career Award in 2003, the Best Paper Award in IEEE WCNC 2012, the Excellence in Research Grant in Greece in 2012, the Best Paper Awards in ADHOCNETS 2015, ICT 2016, IEEE/IFIP WMNC 2019, IEEE Globecom 2022, as well as the 2019 IEEE ComSoc Technical Committee on Communications Systems Integration and Modeling best paper award (for his INFOCOM 2019 paper). His research has been recognized and funded by many industry and government international organizations including, European Commission, European Space Agency (ESA), General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT) in Greece, National Science Foundation (NSF), US Army, MITRE Corp., Panasonic, Nortrhrop-Grumman, New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology etc. He also served on the board of the Greek National Regulatory Authority on Telecommunications and Posts from 2006 to 2009. Dr Hanne-Stine Hallingby is an experienced telecommunication market expert who currently works making 5G and 6G a success. We want 5G and 6G to be a driving force digitizing society, spurring new economic growth while addressing sustainability; some of us think this innovation is not only about technology but partnerships and ecosystems. Hallingby is now a senior research scientist engaged in EU and Telenor R&I projects on 5G and 6G pilots, use cases, business customer requirements, and business models; more particularly, she applies her field of expertise to explore the 5G and 6G ecosystem hurdles and enablers for growth. In Telenor R&I, she is also filling the role as Director for Use Cases and Solutions. This has led to a role as a chair for the 6G-IA sub-working group on “Business Validation, Models, and Ecosystems”. Prior to her current position as researcher, she worked for 15 years in Telenor as a project leader and consultant with business development and change processes. She has an Industrial PhD in Innovation studies. She has published articles in journals such as Telematics and Informatics, MIS Quarterly Executive, Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, Communications Magazine and also attended conferences such as TPRC, International Telecommunication Society, and World Open Innovation Conference. Her passion is with the applications of technology to the best of firms, humans, and society. Dr. Ovidiu Vermesan is Chief Scientist at SINTEF Digital, Oslo, where he is involved in applied research on future edge autonomous intelligent systems and edge AI, wireless sensing devices and networks, smart systems integration, industrial immersive technologies, microelectronics design of integrated systems (analogue and mixed signal), IIoT. He holds a PhD in Microelectronics and a Master of International Business (MIB). His applied research activities focus on advancing edge AI processing, embedded electronics, wireless and smart sensing technologies, and the convergence of these technologies and applying the developments to applications such as green mobility, energy, buildings, autonomous systems, electric connected, autonomous, and shared vehicles, and industrial manufacturing. He is currently the coordinator of the Chips JU Edge AI Technologies for Optimised Performance Embedded Processing (EdgeAI) project. He is the Chair of the WG Research of the AIOTI – Alliance for AI, IoT and Edge Continuum Innovation and member of the steering board. Sylvie Couronné is as senior engineer working at the Fraunhofer IIS in the Positioning and Networks Division, Nuremberg, Germany.
She previously led the development and implementation of RF ICs for digital broadcasting and satellite navigation applications.
Her activities centered then on the development of new concepts and specifications of embedded localization systems to support the implementation of context aware services for different applications like Industrial IoT.
Since few years, her core research work is focused on resource efficient ICT as on sustainability issues of ICT technologies and solutions in industrial applications as in 5G/6G.
Moreover, she has the role of Research Manager as of IP Manager in the Positioning and Networks Division of Fraunhofer IIS.
Since 2024 she also serves as co-chair of the AIOTI Green ICT Enablement working group. Luis Pérez-Freire holds a PhD in Telecommunications Engineering since 2008. He has more than 20 years of experience participating in R&D projects, many of them in direct cooperation with the industry, taking cutting-edge ICT technologies to the market.
Since 2015 Luis is leading Gradiant, a private R&D center with more than 200 engineers specialized on cybersecurity, connectivity and AI technologies. With a strong business and impact-oriented focus, Gradiant incubates start-ups and creates innovative solutions based on deep tech which help companies to create competitive advantages in markets like telecommunications, industry, security, health, or agriculture.
Luis is Board member of several associations promoting innovation in the industry and society. Luis is member of the Board of AIOTI since 2015, and has been chairing the working group on digital agriculture since then. He is also co-founder and member of the Board of DATAlife since 2018, a Digital Innovation Hub to accelerate the digital transformation of strategic economy sectors in Galicia, Spain. Antonio Kung is co-founder and member of the executive board of Trialog, supporting Trialog on strategy, innovation and knowledge management. Co-founder of Trialog, he was CTO until 2018, and CEO until 2024. He has been active since 2015 on standardisation as well as on standardisation strategy. Antonio has initiated the development of more than twenty standards on architecture, interoperability, conformity in domains such as the internet of things, digital twins, security and privacy or artificial intelligence. Antonio graduated from Harvard university and École Centrale de Paris.

Workshop: Autonomous Network for Future - AI, Vertical Oriented New Business Services, Barcelona, 5 March 2025
2025-03-05 09:00 - 12:30
The Workshop “Autonomous Network for Future – AI, Vertical Oriented New Business Services” tool place on the morning of the 05th March 2025, organized by NetworldEurope and CCSA. The event had 2 components, one online and the other onsite in Barcelona with a very limited number of seats available. The respective zoom link was available upon registration. The workshop aimed to provide an open information space to share current and future views about the Autonomous Network, and how this theme is being addressed by different stakeholders. Two different discussion panels were organized, addressing challenges and evolution, new use cases and technology trends as well as standardization and next step industry developments related to Autonomous Networks.
The workshop featured key speakers from industry and academia, representing the views of manufacturers, operators, industry bodies, and research scientists.
The agenda was as follows:

See the workshop report here
See the presentations here
See the videos here

SMEs in the Spotlight at EuCNC & 6G Summit 2025
2025-06-03 09:00 - 2025-06-06 17:00
What motivates small and medium-sized enterprises to join the NetworldEurope SME Working Group? Collaboration, visibility, and the opportunity to shape Europe’s communication networks together.
At EuCNC & 6G Summit 2025, the SME Working Group was present through project booths and demos, as well as a dedicated session that featured success stories from members and a high-level panel on SME-driven scale-up and impact.
In a new video, several SME WG members share both their project highlights and what they gain from being part of this community:

Gigasys Solutions (Mir Ghoraishi) – advancing cybersecurity and 6G orchestration, while highlighting the value of collaborations within the SME WG.
Ubiwhere (Ana Pereira) – building smarter cities and leading EU projects, with pride in being an active SME WG member and contributing to SNS calls and projects.
IMST GmbH (Christos Oikonomopoulos-Zachos) – innovating antennas for integrated sensing and communication, and appreciating the insight into other companies’ work as well as the chance to identify mutual goals and collaborations.
RunEL (Israel Koffman) – achieving breakthroughs in centimeter-level positioning and grateful for the opportunity to join EuCNC.

Their experiences underline how the NetworldEurope SME WG provides a platform for networking, joint opportunities, and stronger impact across Europe.
Watch the video and subscribe to our YouTube channel!

Special Session at EUCNC 2025: Unlocking 5G-Advanced and 6G for Verticals Through Service Based Architecture, Network Exposure and Network APIs, 5 June 2025, Poznan, Poland
2025-06-05 11:00 - 12:30
This special session will provide a platform for leading experts, researchers, industry, and SME stakeholders to discuss the latest advancements in 5G and towards 6G SBA and network exposure. Featuring insights from the following NetworldEurope, 6GIA/TIM, ETSI ENI ISG, and the 6G SNS Project TrialsNet, ENVELOPE, AMAZING-6G, FLECON-6G and ETSI ENI ISG. Consequently, the session aims to deliver to the audience a highly comprehensive overview on techno-economics and future evolution in standards, as well as showcase cutting-edge research, real-world trials, and key findings from European 6G SNS projects. By fostering collaboration between academia, industry, and standards bodies, this session aims to shape the future of 6G service enablement, openness, and programmability, ensuring that SBA and NEF drive innovation across verticals and emerging digital ecosystems.
More details of this special session are available on the EUCNC conference website here

(2nd) International Workshop on System Architectures of Future Core Networks, 8 July 2025, Munich, Germany
2025-07-08 09:00 - 16:30
Date: 8 July 2025
Location: DoCoMo Communications Laboratories Europe GmbH
Editor: Rui Luis Aguiar, Hans J. Einsiedler
A workshop on the evolution of the Future Core was held in NTT DoCoMo Com Laboratories in Munich on the 8th of July. The workshop agenda is the following:

Welcome and Opening
Prof Rui L. Aguiar welcomed and thanked all the participants for their availability and contributions to this workshop.
Keynote: Itsuma Tanaka
This keynote presented some potential aspirations for 6G, namely the trends of AI overloaded in environments of cloudification, IoT, and slicing. It seems clear that we will move towards 6G core in an evolutionary way, towards a more cloud-native network. There is a need to secure technology and business advantages and win the (future) market. A final comment was made on the need to assure joint development of the technology and its evolution.
Session 1: “Voice services in future – need support of the core?”
This session addressed the problem of “Voice services in future – need support of the core?”. The discussion reviewed objectives, scope and technical directions for future voice and data services over IMS and 6G. Participants examined architecture choices, interoperability considerations and standardization timelines.
A couple of topics were highlighted by the speakers and the following discussion: The arguments were centered on whether future voice services will need direct support from the 6G core, or if they can be managed as over the top (OTT) applications. Voice and IMS (details withheld) reality, 5G has not significantly accelerated IMS adoption, partly due to the slow rollout of standalone 5G core networks. Service Based Interface (SBI), despite being a key 5G core concept, is not widely used with IMS, suggesting limited readiness for radical architectural changes. The distinction between operator managed voice and IMS based services is blurring, but operator voice remains relevant due to regulation and reliability.
Key areas for 6G enhancement include reducing complexity and ensuring seamless service continuity as older technologies are retiring. The major conclusions can then be posed as the evolution of the 6G core network for voice services is shaped by regulatory obligations, entrenched technologies (like SIP and IMS), and the need for secure, high-quality connectivity. While AI and new interfaces like IMS-Data Channel offer potential, but radical changes are unlikely in the near term.
Session 2: “Completing the cloud-native transformation of the core: Strategic pathways, planning, and problems”
In this session Open6GCore was given as an example solution to reduce complexity by merging functions, and tackling the challenges (e.g. from NAS), by using a web services architecture. In terms of details, it advocated for: direct routing of NAS between RAN and NAS capable NFs, and E2E User Plane encryption: the introduction of API based functionality and modular NAS, and emphasized SBI based N2 and slicing based 6G deployment.
Session 3: “Defining requirements and priorities for the future core evolution”
On a third session, the majority of the participants highlighted the importance of sticking to the agreed 6G timeline, with a call to find a good tradeoff between radical changes and evolving 5G SA, which is not yet widely deployed. There was consensus that standardization is about external interfaces, whereas the rest of the technical details is implementation specific and different vendors having different software solutions. Efficiency and savings were identified as a key criterion for decision making, with a focus on bringing added value and efficiency to novel proposals. Practical proof points were deemed essential, motivating for use of Open6GCore to create feedback for 3GPP and other vendors. Some proposals for 6G Modularization addressed protocols like NAS, resiliency, AI powered for full automation, security and sustainability by design (but needs further definition). The discussion elaborated that the 6G Core will largely build upon established functional components from 5G, including (SBA), roaming functionalities, and various improvements in functions such as UDM, AUSF, NRF, NEF, and NWDAF, alongside User Plane transport.
Additionally, 6G may introduce novel network functions tailored to its architecture as required, and implement incremental enhancements – for instance, replacing the N4 interface with SBI or integrating a modular NAS protocol with discrete termination points within individual NAS services such as Mobility Management (MM), Session Management (SM), Policy Control (PC), Location (LOC). The presentation also considered how to enable interworking with devices that are not compatible with 5G SA, highlighting the relevance of this issue for the 6G era. The discussion noted a tension between maintaining legacy interoperability and innovation, questioning the telco industry’s capacity to influence its future.
Session 4: Way forward / Discussion on the next step, continuation of the workshop series
The workshop continued in this session with open points captured for standards bodies, follow‑up actions for contributors, and a shared intention to refine use cases and implementation paths in upcoming discussions inside these fora.
Final discussion
The workshop closes with the panel conclusions wrap-up, with 5minutes for each rapporteur, and the next steps to be addressed.

NetworldEurope WG Enabling Technologies Endorses Special Panel on 6G, AI-Native Design at Future Communication Networks, 19 August 2025
2025-08-19 08:00 - 17:00
NetworldEurope, WG Enabling Technologies for Future Vertical Ecosystem Transformation is proud to endorse a special panel at the upcoming Future Communication Networks 2025 conference, titled 6G, AI-Native Design, and Beyond, on August 19, 2025 in Belgrade, Serbia. The panel is co-chaired by the WG’s Vice Chair Dr Xueli An. It will delve into the convergence of mobile networks and AI, addressing the urgent need for cross-industry collaboration.
Participants from various sectors—including operators, vendors, and industrial IoT specialists, academics and researchers—will discuss the architectural enhancements required for integrating vertical industries into mobile networks. This initiative aims to foster a collaborative environment where experts can share insights and develop solutions tailored to the evolving demands of the telecommunications landscape.

Workshop: Non-Terrestrial Networks, 19 September 2025
2025-09-19 09:00 - 12:30
Workshop: Non-Terrestrial Networks

Rationale and Objectives
The Workshop “Non-Terrestrial Networks” took place on the morning of the 19th September 2025, organized by NetworldEurope and CCSA. The hybrid event had 2 components, one onsite in Shanghai and the other online, with the respective zoom link available upon registration. The workshop aimed to provide an open information space to share current and future views about the Non-Terrestrial Networks, and how this theme is being addressed by different stakeholders. Two different discussion panels were organized, addressing challenges and evolution, new use cases and technology trends as well as standardization and next step industry developments related to Non-Terrestrial Networks.
The workshop featured key speakers from industry and academia, representing the views of manufacturers, operators, industry bodies, and research scientists.
The agenda was as follows:

See the workshop report here
See the presentations here
See the videos here
Workshop moderators and speakers Prof. Rui L Aguiar, Chair of the Steering Board of the NetworldEurope European Technology Platform, has been involved in research and strategic research management since 1988, having been involved (in multiple positions) in all European-funded framework programs. He was involved in the development of the NetworldEurope initiative, and the launch of the 5G-Infrastructure Association PPP, and has led the association before. He has been an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer on 5G in the last years, and has several hundred papers on communication networks and services. He is also the co-chair of the Networks and Multimedia area at Instituto de Telecomunicações, a Portuguese state-associated laboratory, and a Full Professor at Universidade de Aveiro. Mr. WEN，Ku Board Chairman of China Communications Standardization Association (CCSA), Professor of Engineering. He is entitled to the special government allowance of The State Council. He used to take positions in succession as Deputy Chief Engineer of Posts and Telecommunications Administration, Director of Data Communication Administration of Shandong Province, Deputy Director General of the Department of Science and Technology of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, Deputy Director General of the Department of Science and Technology, Deputy Director General of the Telecommunications Administration, Director General of the Department of Science and Technology of the Ministry of Information Industry, Director General of the Department of Science and Technology, Director General of the Department of Information and Communication Development and News Spokesman of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Mohamed El Jaafari is a radio access network specialist engineer with 25+ years of experience in cellular communications including 5G NR, eUTRAN, GERAN, and Cellular IoT. He received the Engineer degree in telecommunications from EMI in 1999. He is an expert in radio access network design, RF Planning, Radio Network Optimization, and Radio Access Network System dimensioning with large multi-vendor experience. He currently conducts extensive research work on 5G NR NTN and IoT NTN. He joined the R&D department of the Telecommunication Business Line of Thales Alenia Space in 2020. He is the lead representative of Thales in 3GPP RAN1 working group where he is a feature lead for the 3GPP work item on satellite integration in 5G. Currently, he is defining and developing solutions for 5G NR to support non-terrestrial networks. He is active in national and international research projects on wireless and satellite communication systems in several European Space Agency and European Commission funded projects. His research interests include 3GPP wireless communication systems, Satellite Communications and their integration in 5G and future 6G Networks. He has recently led the drafting of a special edition on non-terrestrial network standard, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/sat.1472 and authored a book on 5G NTN which provides a comprehensive and detailed description of the non-terrestrial component in the 5G ecosystem. Lu, Ben PhD in Electronic Engineering, Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Engineer of Shanghai Spacesail Technologies Co., Ltd.
He led the design of the world’s first MIMO-OFDM prototype system and the world’s first digital-analog hybrid GSM/EDGE mobile phone chip with a shipment volume exceeding 1.2 billion units.
He served as the chief technical director for the development and deployment of China’s first specialized broadband communication system. Currently, he is a member of the Expert Group in the Field of Intelligent Technology under the Science and Technology Commission, a Shanghai Technology Leader, and a Leading Talent of Changning District. He is also a part-time professor and researcher at ShanghaiTech University and Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology. Alessandro Vanelli-Coralli received the Dr. Ing. degree in Electronics Engineering and the Ph.D. degree in Electronics and Computer Science from the University of Bologna, Italy, in 1991 and 1996, respectively, where he is currently a Full Professor. Since 2022, he has also been a Senior Scientist at ETH Zurich. In 2003 and 2005, he was a Visiting Scientist at Qualcomm Inc. in San Diego, CA, USA. He participates in national and international research projects on wireless and satellite communication systems and has served as Project Coordinator and Scientific Responsible for several European Space Agency and European Commission-funded projects, including the ongoing 6G-NTN project. He has led the Vision and Research Strategy task force of the NetworldEurope SatCom Working Group and he is currently a member of the Steering Board of the European Space Agency NTN Forum. Dr. Vanelli-Coralli serves as the University delegate to ETSI, 3GPP, and 6G-IA and has served on the organizing committees of scientific conferences. He has received several Best Paper Awards and is the recipient of the 2019 IEEE Satellite Communications Technical Recognition Award.
Alessandro Vanelli-Coralli, Ph.D.
Professor – University of Bologna
Senior Scientist – ETH Zurich Gaohui Tian Director of the Forward-looking Lab, Geespace, Senior Engineer.
He previously worked at China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), with long-term dedication to commercial aerospace, satellite IoT communications, satellite internet, and related fields. He possesses extensive industry expertise and management experience. Currently, he is responsible for leading the development of standards for Geespace’s low-earth orbit satellite constellation, managing frequency and orbit resources, and expanding commercial aerospace applications. He is committed to promoting the application of satellite communications in enabling smart mobility, IoT, and digital economy for sustainable development. Oriol Vidal, PhD (M) is currently E2E system & 5G/6G NTN Unified roadmap owner in the Telecom and Navigation engineering department in Airbus Defence and Space. With more than 15 years in Airbus as an E2E telecom system engineer, he has been involved in many 5G/6G internal and institutional R&D/T projects, he has taken roles in prospective and business development teams, engineering support on commercial bids and he is currently in charge of supporting and coordinating the Telecom E2E system and 5G/6G NTN roadmap/strategy towards next generation integrated TN-NTN connectivity solutions. LIU SHUO, master of science, work in China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, Institute of Technology and Standards, Beijing, China. He is the vice Chair of ST9 WG4 in CCSA, the Editor of a series of Satellite IMT-2020/IMT-2030 standards in ITU-R, and the Rapporteur of A-BDS standards in 3GPP. His research interests are wireless communication technology standards, satellite communication technology standards and Beidou positioning and navigation technology standards. Tomaso de Cola received the ”Laurea” degree (with honors) in telecommunication engineering, in 2001, the Qualification degree as a Professional Engineer in 2002, and the Ph. D. degree in Electronic and Computer Engineering, Robotics, and Telecommunications in 2010 from the University of Genoa, Italy. Since 2008, he has been with the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), where he has been involved in different European Projects focusing on various aspects of DVB standards, CCSDS protocols, and testbed design. He is a co-author of more than 100 papers, including international conferences and journals. He was the chair of the Satellite and Space Communications (SSC) technical committee within ComSoc and of the SatCom working group within the ETP NetworldEurope platform. Currently he serves as area director of the Space-Internetworking Services (SIS) within the CCSDS standardization body. He has been involved in many editorial initiatives in IEEE journals and magazine as guest and associate editor. Dr. Hou Liming, who holds a Ph.D. in Electronics and Engineering, is a Senior Engineer. He primarily focuses on research in 3GPP NTN, satellite communications, and 6G space-terrestrial integrated air interface technologies. Additionally, he serves as a co-rapporteur for the ITU-R WP4B research project, which focuses on satellite-specific IMT-2030 air interface technical standards. Shaobo Qi
Senior Engineer, Senior System Architect at Galaxy Space
Mr. Qi is a senior engineer and senior system architect at Galaxy Space, where he leads the overall design of constellation network systems. He directed the research and development of communication and constellation resource scheduling protocols for Lingxi-03, China’s first flat-panel phased-array satellite. He also served as chief architect for the nation’s first LEO experimental constellation, “Little Spider-Net”, and led the design and development of its Constellation Resource Management System—the first core platform in China dedicated to LEO constellation networking operations and application services.
With over 50 invention patents granted or pending, Mr. Qi has published extensively in leading international journals and presented at major global conferences. His work has significantly advanced China’s capabilities in next-generation satellite communications and constellation resource management. Mr. Xuemin Wang
Vice President of Huawei European Research Institute
Director of Huawei Europe Standardization & Industry Dept
Mr. Xuemin Wang, joined in Huawei in 1995, served as Project Manager of Huawei B-Type Circuit Switching product, Vice General Manager of Product Testing Department, Vice General Manager of General Technical Management Office, Director of Standardization & Industry Dept, etc. Currently served as the Vice President of European Research Institute and also the Director of Europe Standardization & Industry Development Dept, responsible for implementing standard and industry strategy for European regions.
Also served as IIC Steering Committee member China Electronics Standardization Association (CESA). Vice Chair of Board of Director, CCSA board member, etc., for the aim of building nice communication channels with external organizations, partners and customers in the multi-level standardization and industry development environment.

Fifth Visions for Future Communications Summit, 25-26 November 2025, Lisbon
2025-11-25 09:00 - 2025-11-26 17:00
Vision of Future Communications Summit is a top-quality research workshop, with the support of IEEE, oriented to identify key research areas in information and communication technologies in the mid-future of 7 to 10 years. The VFCS is an exercise we perform as the launching effort for updating the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) for the EU, an effort we have continuously made in the last years. This upcoming SRIA will have a peculiar significance. It will be the SRIA associated with the launching of FP10, the new framework program. As such, this will have a particularly large long-term impact, in helping to define Europe long term priorities for the whole framework program.
It will follow from the previous events held in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023 considering that by 2030 6G will be reaching the market. Given the expected innovation cycle times, it is now appropriate that we start discussions on Challenges for 2030 and Beyond.
More information and registration here

Navigating Investor Negotiations and Due Diligence for Startups and SMEs, 9 December 2025
2025-12-09 09:00 - 17:00
Join us and demystify the investment process when preparing to engage with investors!

To further propel innovators’ entrepreneurial journey in Europe’s thriving innovation ecosystem, the European Commission Horizon Results Platform (HRP) is co-organizing an interview with one of its partners, Business Angels Europe (BAE):
“Navigating Investor Negotiations and Due Diligence for Startups and SMEs”
Signing a deal with investors is just the start of a long partnership. You only get one chance to finalise the agreement – so it is worth making sure everything is right from the start of your negotiations.
The Horizon Results Platform (HRP) is the dynamic hub at the forefront of fostering innovation across the EU, showcasing innovations from Horizon Europe, Horizon 2020, FP7, European Innovation Council (EIC), European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT), and other programmes. HRP also includes policy-oriented results.
Our dedicated team, in partnership with the EIC, EIT, Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), European business angel networks and others, holds go-to-market initiatives – pitch events, open innovation challenges, matchmaking meetings, investor readiness webinars, and more; HRP also offers a wide range of business services, to advance your go-to-market journey.
Join the Navigating Negotiations session and ensure everything is perfect from the start: this webinar is designed to help demystify the investment process for you: negotiations, term sheets and due diligence.
Date: 09 December 2025
Time: 10:00 – 12:00 CEST
Registration (required): https://ecconf.webex.com/weblink/register/rc8ee3cf173f74da9d6318a23e1f9641b
Questions: Horizon Results Platform team: EC-HORIZON-RESULTS-PLATFORM@ec.europa.eu
Who is this webinar for?
Founders, startups and SMEs in the midst of, or looking to succeed negotiations with an investor
What will you learn more about?

Investment process — from first contact to closing signature
Negotiating terms: why collecting multiple term sheets matters
Key terms: valuation, liquidation preferences, reserved matters, drag/tag-along rights
Due diligence: what investors look for and how to prepare effectively
Due diligence from the investor perspective
Closing the deal, because it isn’t over until it’s over!

Whether you’re setting up your first spin-out or planning a future raise, this session aims to give you clarity, confidence, and a more strategic view of the investor landscape.
Expert: Jan Debets

Senior Advisor at BAE – Business Angels Europe
Worked in venture capital at the Silicon Valley-based 500 Global, and Capital Mills in the Netherlands
Manager at META Group
MBA from HEC Paris
Board member – HEC Alumni Angels Club

“Investor Negotiations: it isn’t over until it’s over!”
