EU-Wide Advantages and Opportunities for "Wireless Communication Technologies and Signal Processing – Standardisation and Follow-up/PoCs" (HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-02)

Overview

This RIA call targets next-generation (6G) wireless physical-layer, AI-native RAN, spectrum-sharing, and Open-RAN disaggregation technologies, with a strong emphasis on standardisation and proofs-of-concept (PoCs). Because it is framed under the Smart Networks & Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU), it is intrinsically designed to leverage the full scale of the European Union. Below is a structured analysis of the unique EU-wide advantages and opportunities unlocked by participating in this grant.

1. Single Market Access (≈450 million Consumers)

• First-mover advantage for 6G-ready products: Technologies validated in an SNS-funded PoC can be rapidly commercialised across the entire EU without duplicative national certification, thanks to the CE marking regime and harmonised ETSI standards.

• Public-sector demand pull: Upcoming Connecting Europe Facility (CEF Digital) and Digital Europe Programme (DEP) deployments of 5G/6G corridors will reward solutions already validated under this grant, opening a pipeline to cross-border infrastructure contracts.

• Scale economies: Producing chipsets, antennas or AI accelerators for one harmonised EU market lowers unit costs and strengthens global price competitiveness vs. US/Asia suppliers.

2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange

• Mandatory multinational consortia promote complementary excellence—e.g. Nordic radio-hardware leaders + Southern-EU AI labs + Central-EU semiconductor firms.

• Pan-EU testbeds: Re-use of existing 5G-IA/SNS facilities (5TONIC-ES, 6G-Sandbox-FI, i2CAT-ES, 5G-Vincent-FR, etc.) enables realistic cross-country PoCs, vital for later standardisation contributions.

• Talent mobility: Researchers benefit from Marie-Skłodowska-Curie style secondments built into SNS collaboration agreements, accelerating skills diffusion in MIMO, semantic comms, and trustworthy AI.

3. Alignment with Key EU Policies

• European Green Deal: Energy-efficient waveforms, low-PAPR modulation and RAN power-reduction algorithms directly cut network energy consumption (>30 % potential), supporting the Commission’s 2030 climate targets.

• Digital Decade & Gigabit Society: 6G KPIs (1 Tbps peak, sub-ms latency) underpin the goal of providing gigabit connectivity to all Europeans by 2030.

• EU Chips Act: Integration of multi-processor SoC/accelerators links to EU plans for 20 % global chip market share; project results can feed into new pilot lines funded by IPCEI-ME or KDT JU.

• Cybersecurity Act & Toolbox for 5G/6G: Physical-layer security and trustworthy/explainable AI elements strengthen European technological sovereignty and resilience.

4. Regulatory Harmonisation Benefits

• Spectrum coordination: Work on 7–15 GHz sharing will influence CEPT/ECC reports, ensuring that PoC spectrum access is replicable EU-wide.

• Open-RAN policy momentum: Consistent EU guidance (e.g., the NIS Cooperation Group Report on Open RAN) reduces fragmentation and eases market entry for SMEs developing disaggregated RAN functions.

• Standardisation leverage: ETSI, 3GPP, ITU-R delegates from SNS projects hold decisive positions; joint EU submissions carry more weight, easing global adoption of European-origin specs.

5. Access to Europe’s Innovation Ecosystem

• Link-in to European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) for rapid prototyping, cybersecurity testing and SME mentoring.

• Collaboration with ESA 6G satellite programmes provides dual-use opportunities (terrestrial–non-terrestrial integration) unavailable at purely national level.

• Synergy with European AI networks (AI-on-Demand Platform, CLAIRE) for dataset sharing mandated by the SNS open-science clause, accelerating trustworthy AI research.

6. Funding Synergies & Leverage

• Cascade funding: Subsequent DEP or CEF Digital calls can finance large-scale pilots building on RIA outcomes, de-risking the path to market.

• EIC Accelerator & IBG loans: SMEs with strong PoCs can apply for blended finance to scale manufacturing or software rollout.

• Regional ERDF/Just Transition Funds: Member States can co-invest in local 6G pilot factories or test corridors that host SNS prototypes, aligning smart-specialisation strategies.

7. EU-Scale Deployment & Impact

• Standardisation-ready deliverables ensure rapid take-up across 27 Member States, locking in European IPR positions before global competitors.

• Critical mass for AI-native RAN datasets: The obligation to deposit training data in a common SNS repository creates the world’s largest open 6G RAN dataset, catalysing innovation by third parties.

• Economic multiplier: Studies (EC SWD(2023) 167) indicate every €1 of SNS funding generates €6–8 in GDP; EU-level projects amplify this effect by avoiding duplication and accelerating diffusion.

• Sovereignty & security: Participation restrictions (Art. 22(5)) ensure outputs remain under EU/OECD control, reducing dependency on non-EU high-risk suppliers and reinforcing a secure supply chain.

8. Actionable Tips to Maximise EU Advantage

1. Build a consortium spanning at least 3–4 Member/Associated States, mixing radio-hardware OEMs, AI software scale-ups, semiconductor fabs, and academic leaders in information theory.

2. Map deliverables to 3GPP Rel-19/20 timelines to ensure instant standardisation impact.

3. Reserve budget for joint ETSI/CEPT workshops to showcase PoCs to regulators, fostering fast-track spectrum decisions.

4. Exploit Smart Specialisation platforms to co-fund regional 6G labs that will host your PoCs after project end.

5. Plan IP exploitation via the SNS-wide Collaboration Agreement to bundle patents and strengthen Europe’s collective negotiating power in global forums.

Bottom line: Competing for this SNS RIA at EU level provides unparalleled scale, regulatory certainty, and access to an integrated innovation ecosystem that no single Member State can match. Successfully funded consortia will be strategically positioned to shape global 6G standards, secure Europe’s technological sovereignty, and unlock vast commercial opportunities across the Single Market.