Workshop: Autonomous Network for Future – AI, Vertical Oriented New Business Services, Barcelona, 5 March 2025

Rationale and Objectives

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

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.

Dr. Raffaele De Peppe – Pioneer of the Mobile Telecommunication industry, has served Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM) International Operations and domestic Strategy & Innovation departments over 25 years playing a pivotal role in transforming TIM business model.
At present is serving as Strategy Officer in TIM Strategy Dept. in charge for business analysis of innovative technologies, (AI, Beyond 5G and 6G etc) and as Senior Economist in TIM Think Tank (“Centro Studi TIM”). Has been responsible of TIM partnership programs with the GSM Association (GSMA) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for over 15 years to support TIM strategic planning and innovation.
Elected twice Board Member of the 5G Infrastructure Association (5G IA), has provided business driven and industrial guidance to European funded 5G research programs. Main achievement as Board Member was to open the Association to a wider ecosystem of relevant European industries establishing partnership agreements with most relevant industy fora – 5GAA (Automotive), ERTICO (Transportation), 5G ACIA (Smart Manufacturing), ESA (Space), NEM (Media), PSCE (Public Safety), ECSO (Cybersecurity) – to create impact for 5G in vertical sectors in Europe.
Recently elected as Board Member of the 6G Smart Networks and Services Industry Association (6G IA) within the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU), has enlarged the participation to new industries (eg. Health sector) and associations (5G MAG) leading vertical engagement activities within the Board.
PhD in Electronic Engineering at Rome’s University and Executive MBA at IE Business School, is an invited Lecturer in Bocconi University, Rome’s University and Lorange Institute of Business.

Dr. Ye OUYANG, IEEE Fellow, was appointed as Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President of the Group in July 2018, and also the Chairman of the Technology Committee and the Head of R&D Center of the Group, and is primarily responsible for Group’s corporate technical strategy, research, development and innovation.
Dr. Ye OUYANG has extensive experience in R&D and executive management in the ICT field. His recent work is focused on the cross-domain innovation and commercialization of the technologies of cellular networks, AI, and data science. Prior to AsiaInfo, Dr. Ye OUYANG has been a Verizon Fellow and was a Senior Manager at Verizon, the largest telco in the US. In December 2022, Dr. Ouyang was elevated to IEEE Fellow for leadership in network intelligence and self-organizing cellular networks. Dr. Ouyang has been one of the youngest IEEE Fellows in the space of network intelligence and telecom artificial intelligence.
Dr. Ye OUYANG received numerous honors and awards in industry and academia, some latest including the 2017 Asian American Engineer of the Year (AAEOY), the 2023 Forbes Most Influential Chinese Selection Award, the 2019 TM Forum Future Digital Leader Award, the 2021 Top-100 Diverse Leaders in Tech by US National Diversity Council, the 2022 Science and Technology Award First Prize by CCF (China Computer Federation), the 2023 Science and Technology Award First Prize by CAA (China Association of Automation), the 2023 Science and Technology Award Second Prize by CCF (China Computer Federation),the 2021 Wu Wenjun AI Science and Technology Award by CAAI (Chinese Association for AI), the 2021 China Artificial Intelligence Tech Leader Award, the 2020 China Artificial Intelligence Industry Annual Leader Award, the 2017 IEEE International Conference on Big Data (IEEE BigData) Best Paper Award, the 2017 US Telecom Innovation Awards by Fierce, the 2017 Most Innovative Telco Big Data Analytics Platform Award by Telco Data Analytics USA, the 2016 US Telecom Innovation Award by Fierce, the 2015 Chair Award “Wireless Communications & Interdisciplinary Perspective” Contribution by IEEE WTS, etc.Dr. Ye OUYANG serves various roles in global telecommunication standard bodies, academia, and high tech organizations, including Chair or Board Member of different working groups and conferences in ETSI and IEEE, Industry Career Mentor at Stevens Institute of Technology, Chair of AI Chapter at Beijing Software Industry Association, and Director at Tsinghua University-AsiaInfo Joint Lab of 6G Network & Intelligence Computing. He also serves as editor, technical program committee member, and reviewer for many journals and conferences.
Dr. Ye OUYANG authored 55 papers, 166 patents, 185 standards, and 13 books. Dr. Ye OUYANG obtained a Bachelor of Engineering from the Southeast University in China, a Master of Science from Tufts University, a Master of Science from Columbia University in the City of New York and a Ph.D. from Stevens Institute of Technology in the US.

Dr. Ioannis Arapakis is the Head of Telefónica Scientific Research at Telefónica Innovación Digital in Barcelona, where he leads a team working on machine learning, deep learning, generative AI, augmented reality, neuroscience, quantum computing, and smart networks. He also directs the EIC Pathfinder project “SYMBIOTIK” on neuro-adaptive InfoVis systems. Prior to this role, he served as a Research Scientist at Yahoo Labs in Barcelona from 2011 to 2016.
Dr. Arapakis earned his M.Sc. in Information Technology, specializing in Interactive Systems Engineering, from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Sweden in 2007, and his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Glasgow in 2010. His work has resulted in numerous publications in top-tier venues, several patents, and recognition such as the SIGIR 2010 best paper award. He has also led research projects under FP7, H2020, Horizon Europe, and the EIC Pathfinder funding schemes, while serving on various international committees. In addition, he is an Adjunct Professor in the Master’s program for Data Science for Decision Making and has successfully supervised several M.Sc. and Ph.D. students.

Mr. Vandy Poon, is Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and Chairman of the Executive Committee of Companhia de Telecomunicações de Macau, S.A.(“CTM”). Mr. Poon joined CTM in 1987 and became the CEO of CTM in 2007. He has been playing a pivotal role for the sustainable development of CTM.
Mr. Poon is committed to innovation and the development of “Digital Macau”, under Mr. Poon’s leadership, CTM has been consolidating the leading position in the local telecoms arena in a rapidly changing market, enabling Macau to keep abreast of the global technology trend, laying a solid foundation for constructing Macau into a smart city.
Mr. Poon values talents, he has been cultivating batches of outstanding talents for the telecom industry in Macau. Under the open-minded leadership of Mr. Poon, the CTM team develops sustainably, giving a strong vitality for the development of Macau’s telecom industry.

Andy Tiller has over 30 years’ experience in product marketing and product management for telecom suppliers and technology companies.  At TM Forum since 2017 he has run the collaboration programs, championing the Open Digital Architecture, as well as conformance certification services, training & education, and the Catalyst proof of concept program.  He joined TM Forum from Chinese BSS/OSS supplier AsiaInfo, where he built an international product strategy, established a global marketing function and set up the company’s operations in Europe. Previously, Andy held senior positions at ip.access (where he was also a founding board member and director of the Small Cell Forum), ShoZu, and Geneva Technology.

Mr. Yongming Lin, Chief Strategy Officer, Huawei ADN has More than 20 years of experience in the ICT field, responsible for Huawei’s ADN strategic planning and industry development.
Fully participate in the whole process of AN (Autonomous Networks) industry development from concept incubation to L4 realization and promote AN to become the preferred network evolution direction of global mainstream operators.
Have unique insights and views on the core concepts of AN, development status of the industry and standards, progress of CSPs, and L4 evolution trend.
Guide multiple Top CSPs in carrying out AN strategic planning and practice.

Mr. MA Hongbing, GM of China Unicom Science & Technology Innovation Dept. Member of GSMA TG. Member of China IMT-2020 /IMT-2030 Group. Executive director of Wireless and mobile communications committee of CIC (China Institute of Communications).  Fellow of CIC. Editor of China Radio magazine.

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.

Dr. Pouria Sayyad Khodashenas, Director of Software Networks Research Group at i2cat Foundation, Barcelona, Spain.
Experienced Connectivity Solution Architect with a proven track record in the telecommunications industry, specialising in 5.5/6G technologies. Demonstrated expertise in architecture, features, requirements, and use cases, particularly focused on Industry 4.0, CCAM/CAV. Proactively engaged in standards development and closely following 3GPP SA2, 5G-ACIA, and 5GAA. A dynamic professional with a background in leading and coordinating international projects, collaborating with renowned institutions, and contributing to strategic research agendas.