5G ENSURE has received funding from the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation H2020 under grant agreement No 671562 | Duration November 2015 / October 2017
Submitted by s.parker on July 8, 2016
Five partners from 5G-ENSURE - Ericsson, Nokia, Orange, Telecom Italia, and Thales Alenia Space – sign the new “5G Manifesto for timely deployment of 5G in Europe” with the European Commission. The 7-page document has been endorsed by other mobile operators and another satellite operator with tentative interest coming from five vertical markets. It is a response to Digital Economy & Society Commissioner Günther Oettinger’s call for action at MWC2016, asking the industry to contribute to the shaping and backing his 5G Action Plan.
Calls for Action from the European operators
Key actions in the manifesto include collaboration with industry verticals, the formation of ecosystems coming from large-scale demonstrators and the creation of an investment-centric policy framework with commercial 5G launches requiring substantial investments in new infrastructures and a large amount of spectrum.
- EC and Member states to promote the benefits of 5G networks as ways to meet the digital connectivity needs of vertical industries and public institutions more cost-effectively.
- EC to legally secure investment and economic co-operation between market players
- Policies and rules must be “future-oriented”, pro-investment and pro-innovation, investigating whether regulatory harmonisation in some industry sectors, such as healthcare, energy or automated transport, is feasible and could help unlock pan-European services.
5G-ENSURE playing a key role in 5G security standardisation
With the manifesto authors stating that “standards are crucial for 5G success”, as are Pan-European 5G trials, 5G-ENSURE has a key role to play through its contributions on 5G security standardisation as demonstrated at our 1st International Workshop.
Two-phase roadmap
The Manifesto authors propose a two-phase trial roadmap, encompassing different use-cases.
- Before 2018 (between 3GPP release 14 and the 5G-centric release 15): Technology trials run by independent trial consortia in various countries, independent of the status of standardisation, to demonstrate and validate new 5G capabilities as well as foster an ecosystem around new 5G capabilities. Vertical industries will already be involved in this phase.
- Around 2018 (as Release 15 is close to being finalised and as additional spectrum is identified in preparation for WRC 2019): European stakeholders agree on trial specifications (use-cases, scenarios, interfaces, agreement to transfer use-cases across trial networks) valid for pan-European trials, based as much as possible on standard-compliant systems. These trials aim to demonstrate wider interoperability and support for vertical use-cases in order to claim global public attention
Industry players state their commitment to delivering a roadmap of trials and demonstrators by January 2017: The concept of 5G network virtualisation (slicing) to accommodate specific needs or business models, Connected automotive scenarios, Connected eHealth scenarios, Reliable, high capacity broadband connectivity in planes, railway and high-speed transportation, Public Safety use-cases for key events, Smart grids, Smart City use-cases, Media and entertainment use-cases.
Funding for 5G Priorities
In addition to funding research and innovation projects of the 5G PPP, the telecoms want the EC to consider allocating funds to trials and large-scale demonstrators, as well as establishing a 5G Venture Fund. They want grants for large-scale demonstrators to be between €0.5bn and €1bn range and drawn from existing EU funding instruments. The Venture Fund should look at investments above €1bn, which would allow the EU to take equity stakes in European innovative start-ups aiming at developing 5G technologies and applications across verticals.
Sources: TelecomTV and EC Digital Single Market
