This blogpost is an introduction to the next steps of the 5G research under the umbrella of Horizon-2020 EU-funded projects. This is the third part of our “research activities in Europe“ blogpost series, a continuation of Towards 5G – research activities in Europe (part 1 – FP7 projects) and Towards 5G – research activities in Europe (part 2 – H2020 projects) .
5G-PPP Phase 2
The 5G Infrastructure Public Private Partnership (5G – PPP, https://5g-ppp.eu/ ) is a joint initiative between the European ICT industry and the European Commission. The purpose of this initiative was to rethink the infrastructure and to create next generation of communication network.
The 5G-PPP Programme will consist of at least three phases of approximately 20 large projects working in parallel in each phase. These projects will have unique goals but together will answer the Key Performance Indicators of the Programme and fulfil the vision of a new network.
The Phase 2 of the Horizon-2020 5GPPP has started at the beginning of the June 2017 and will last up to August 2020. The short description of the projects is given below:
- 5G ESSENCE: Embedded Network Services for 5G Experiences (https://5g-ppp.eu/5g-essence/, 06.2017 – 11.2019): devotes to the idea of Edge Cloud computing and Small Cell-as-a-Service (SCaaS). It will be done by improving the drivers and removing the barriers in the Small Cell (SC) market. 5G ESSENCE will provide a highly flexible and scalable platform, which will support new business models and incoming streams.
- 5G CAR: Fifth Generation Communication Automotive Research and innovation (https://5g-ppp.eu/5gcar/, 06.2017 – 05.2019): will focus on V2X network aspects. It will develop 5G system architecture, optimize end-to-end V2X network connectivity for highly reliable and low-latency V2X services, which supports security and privacy, manages quality-of-service and manages traffic flow in a multi-RAT and multi-link V2X communication system.
- 5GCity (https://5g-ppp.eu/5g-city/, 06.2017 – 11.2019): will build, develop, deploy and test, in operational conditions, a distributed cloud and radio platform for municipalities and infrastructure owners acting as 5G neutral hosts. This multi-tenant open platform that extends the centralized cloud model to the extreme edge of the network will be demonstrated in three different cities. The main goal of the project is to maximize the refund the investment for the whole digital market chain (users, application, cloud providers) and to solve the open research challenges in the 5G-based edge virtualization domain, including the neutral host perspective in dense deployment environments.
- 5G MEDIA: Programmable edge-to-cloud virtualization fabric for the 5G Media industry (https://5g-ppp.eu/5g-MEDIA/, 06.2017 – 11.2019): focuses on innovating media-related applications by investigating how applications and the underlying 5G network should interwork and be coupled. The main objectives are capitalizing and properly extending the valuable outcomes of the running 5G PPP projects to offer an agile programming, verification and orchestration platform for services, evolving network functions and applications and demonstrating them in a large-scale deployments.
- 5G-MoNArch: 5G Mobile Network Architecture for diverse services, use cases, and applications in 5G and beyond (https://5g-ppp.eu/5g-Monarch/, 07.2017 – 06.2019): brings into practice the concepts of the expected diversity of services where use cases and applications in 5G require a flexible, adaptable, and programmable architecture. This will include the functional innovations for the key technologies required for the identified use cases (resilience and security, resource elasticity) and deployment and experimental implementation of the architecture in two use cases (sea port and touristic city).
- 5G-PHOS: 5G integrated Fiber-Wireless networks exploiting existing photonic technologies for high-density SDN-programmable network architectures (https://5g-ppp.eu/5g-phos/, 09.2017 – 08.2020): focuses on the development the novel 5G broadband fronthaul architectures. The goal is to evaluate them for Ultra-dense and Hot-Spot areas taking advantage of the recent advances in optical technologies towards producing a powerful photonic integrated circuit technology toolkit.
- 5G PICTURE: 5G Programmable Infrastructure Converging disaggregated neTwork and compUte Resources (https://5g-ppp.eu/5g-picture/, 06.2017 – 11.2019): will develop the infrastructure that relies on a converged fronthaul and backhaul solution, integrating advanced wireless access and novel optical network domains. The concept of Disaggregated-Radio Access Networks (DA-RANs) will be adopted to allow any service to flexibly mix-and-match and to use compute, storage network resources through HW programmability.
- 5Gtango: 5G Development and Validation Platform for global Industry – specific Network Services and Apps (5gtango.eu, 06.2017 – 11.2019): pays attention to the flexible programmability of 5G networks. The main goals within the project are:
- reduction of the time-to-market for networked services by shortening the service development cycle and by qualifying those network services to be adopted,
- decrease the entry barrier to third party developers along with supporting the creation and composition of Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) and application elements as “Network Services”
- also boost to the NFV uptake in industry via an ‘extended’ DevOps model
- the validation at scale of Network Service capabilities of the 5GTANGO platform in vertical show cases.
- 5G – Transformer: 5G Mobile Transport Platform for Verticals (http://5g-transformer.eu/, 06.2017 – 11.2017): will transform modern mobile transport network into an SDN/NFV-based Mobile Transport and Computing Platform (MTP), which brings the “Network Slicing” concept into mobile transport networks by supplying and managing MTP slices tailored to the specific needs of vertical industries. The goal of the Project is to design, implement and show a 5G platform that addresses such challenges as:
- enable vertical industries to meet their service requirements within customized MTP slices
- unite transport networking and computing fabric, from the edge all the way to the core and cloud
- create and manage MTP slices throughout a federated virtualized infrastructure.
- 5G-Xcast: Broadcast and Multicast Communication Enablers for the Fifth Generation of Wireless Systems (https://5g-ppp.eu/5g-xcast/, 06.2017 – 05.2019): the goal of the project is to develop broadcast and multicast point to multipoint (PTM) capabilities for 5G considering M&E automotive, IoT and PWS use cases and evaluate 5G spectrum allocation options for 5G Broadcast network deployments. The project assumes also a design of the 5G network architecture with layer independent network interfaces to dynamically and smoothly switch between unicast, multicast and broadcast modes or use them in parallel.
- Bluespace: Building on the Use of Spatial Multiplexing 5G Networks Infrastructures and Showcasing Advanced technologies and Networking Capabilities (https://5g-ppp.eu/bluespace/, 06.2017 – 05.2020): deals with the issue of Spatial Division Multiplexing (SDM) in the Radio Access Network with efficient optical beamforming interface for the pragmatic Ka-band wireless transmission band. The main objective of the project is to develop a viable and efficient path for 5G wireless communications with a 1000-fold increase in capacity, connectivity for over 1 billion users, latency control, and network software programming.
- IoRL: Internet of Radio Light (https://5g-ppp.eu/iorl/, 06.2017 – 05.2020): develops a more secure, customizable and intelligent building network that delivers throughput greater than 10Gbps from access points ubiquitously located inside the buildings, whilst minimizing interference and harmful EM exposure and providing location accuracy of less than 10 cm. The project will showcase the solution for the problem of broadband wireless access in buildings and supports the establishment of a global standard in ITU.
- MATILDA: A HOLISTIC, INNOVATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR THE DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT AND ORCHESTRATION OF 5G-READY APPLICATIONS AND NETWORK SERVICES OVER SLICED PROGRAMMABLE INFRASTRUCTURE (https://5g-ppp.eu/matilda/, 06.2017 – 11.2019): will realize the development of the software for 5G-ready applications, as well as virtual and physical network functions and services using a unified programmability model, proper abstractions and creation of an open development environment. The orchestration mechanisms will be applied for the automated placement of the applications and the creation and maintenance of the requires network slices. Multi-site virtualized infrastructure manager will support the management of the cloud/edge computing and IoT resources, while a multi-site NFV Orchestrator (NFVO) will support the lifecycle management of the Virtual Network Functions Forwarding Graphs (VNF-FGs) and set of other network management activities. The analytics and profiling mechanisms are based on real-time as well as a posteriori processing of the collected data from a set of monitoring streams.
- METRO-HAUL: METRO High bandwidth, 5G Application-aware optical network, with edge storage, compUte and low Latency (https://5g-ppp.eu/metro-haul/, 06.2017 – 05.2020): the goal is to design cost-effective, energy-efficient, agile and programmable metro networks that are scalable for 5G access and requirements encompassing the design of all-optical metro nodes, which interface effectively with both 5G access and multi-Tbit/s elastic core networks. The project takes the 5G KPIs and determines their implication for the optical network with such targets as: 5G capacity over the same optical fibre infrastructure, less energy consumption, latency-aware network, end to end SDN-based management framework, reductions in CAPEX (of a factor of 10) and in OPEX (of at least 20%)
- NGPaaS: Next Generation Platform as a Service (https://5g-ppp.eu/ngpaas/, 06.2017 – 05.2019): will build telco-grade PaaS (Platform-As-A-Service) to support different configurations and a large set of deployment options such as FPGA/ARM/x86, private/public cloud in a scalable and unifying manner. The new Dev-or-Operations model will remove silos between different teams of the same organization or industry, but also between different industries (vendor, IoT/Vertical, operator). The goal of the project is also to design a new OSS/BSS model for interfacing with the cloud resources supporting the Telco-grade PaaS optimized for cost and performance in a highly dynamic environment.
- NRG-5: Enabling Smart Energy as a Service via 5G Mobile Network advances (https://5g-ppp.eu/NRG-5/, 06.2017 – 11.2019): will deliver a novel 5G-PPP compliant, decentralized, secure and resilient framework. The project focuses on making the deployment, operation and management of existing and new communications and energy infrastructures (in the context of the Smart Energy-as-a-Service) easier, safer and resilient from an operational and financial point of view. The project will also investigate on vast modelling and virtualization of electricity and gas infrastructure assets combined with the telecommunications infrastructure serving the full spectrum of the communication and computational needs.
- ONE 5G (https://5g-ppp.eu/one5g/, 06.2017 – 05.2019): will propose the necessary 5G extensions, to address the two selected scenarios (’megacities’ and ’underserved areas’) and provide technical recommendations for moving 5G towards ’5G advanced (pro)’. The project’s goal is also to suggest advanced link technologies and enhancements beyond release 15 to enable multi-service operation with future-proof access schemes, advanced massive MIMO enablers and link management. The research on highly generic performance optimization schemes will result in a successful deployment and operation, including optimizations for both the network operator and the E2E user-experienced performance.
- SaT5G: Satellite and Terrestrial Network for 5G (https://5g-ppp.eu/Sat5G/, 06.2017 – 11.2019): develops a cost effective “plug and play” satcom solution for 5G. It will enable telcos and network vendors to accelerate 5G deployment in all geographies and simultaneously create new and growing market opportunities for satcom industry stakeholders. The main project goals are to: exploit 5G and satellite research activities to value and define solutions integrating satellite into the 5G network architecture, expand the commercial value propositions for satellite based network solutions for 5G, define and develop key technical enablers for the identified research challenges and validate them in a lab test environment.
- SLICENET: End-to-End Cognitive Network Slicing and Slice Management Framework in Virtualised Multi-Domain, Multi-Tenant 5G Networks (https://5g-ppp.eu/slicenet/, 06.2017 – 05.2020): aims to achieve truly E2E slicing. That allows to maximize the benefits of full infrastructure sharing and to provide a highly innovative, integrated verticals’ QoE oriented slice provisioning, control, management and orchestration framework, which will manage to meet the diverging requirements from diverse verticals.
- Global5G.org: Global vision, standardisation & stakeholder engagement in 5G (www.global5g.org, 07.2017 – 12.2019): will simplify a European-led contribution to the international vision of 5G networks, dealing with a large set of requirements from different vertical industries. The goal of the project is to implement a European “5G PPP Vision” in an international context, by involving all important stakeholders.
Summary
The Projects involved in 5G-PPP Phase II will develop further the achievements of the previous projects of Phase I of the 5G-PPP, by trying to answer the key challenges of the 5G network.
Since the whole 5GPPP consists of many ambitious KPIs, there is a need for successful and coherent research co-working. The success of the programme will be very much depending on the consecutive portfolio of projects over the phases, the capacity of these projects to interface and cooperate and their ability to jointly impact beyond their individual impact. As the second Phase of the Programme has just started, the described goals are the primary assumptions. In some months we are expecting to read more about the first achievements and detailed work plans for the rest of the project time, so STAY CONNECTED! The graphical representation of the timeline of the 5G-PPP Phase II Projects is shown below (the picture is based on the 5GPPP time plan figure).
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