Advanced 5G Network Infrastructure for the Future Internet

Public Private Partnership in Horizon 2020

The NetSoc project facilitated discussions on establishment of a PPP within Horizon 2020 programme, contributing to creation of the 5G European Infrastructure initiative.

“Creating a Smart Ubiquitous Network for the Future Internet”
The communication network and service environment of 2020 will be infinitely richer and more complex than that of today. Our expectation is that in 2020 the network infrastructure will be capable of connecting everything according to a multiplicity of application specific requirements: People, things, processes, computing centres, content, knowledge, information, goods, in a flexible, truly mobile, and powerful way. The future will encompass connected sensors, connected vehicles, smart meters and smart home gadgets way beyond our current experience of tablet and smartphone connectivity.
There is urgency to properly address the novel infrastructure that will be needed to cater for these challenging and unprecedented growth and performance characteristics. Manufacturers, service providers and also internet players, that are operating data centres, are involved in this evolution. This will lead to redefining the value chains, reinventing the roles and relationships between the players, whilst opening new innovation opportunities. In parallel, a turning point is coming in communications networks with the progressive introduction of virtualisation and of software based network functionalities to offer the required flexibility and reactivity.
These novel network requirements, technologies and architectures will introduce a wide range of industrial opportunities for both established and new actors and also for SME’s. Europe must take this golden opportunity to drive the changes and position European vendors, service providers and innovative SME’s in new markets and with new offers.

Complete document available here.