5G -

The next phase of 5G covers, both in EU and in South Korea, technologies and systems demonstrations and trials. The challenge is hence to demonstrate innovative use of 5G technologies and system interoperability for a number of 5G applications of interest in the two regions in early version of the 5G standard. The possibilities of even broader regional test beds or demonstrators can be proposed, e.g. through extension to other countries or regions as this could further strengthen the co-operation towards a global 5G.

The overall goal is to evaluate in real setup innovative end-to-end 5G systems built on the outcomes of the previous phase of the 5G R&I in the earlier joint call with South Korea and focus on demonstrations of applications and use cases in joint pilots in line with the phase 3 targets of 5G-PPP and their validation in a system context and in the context of multiple use cases, with performances well beyond those of early 5G trials planned over the 2018-20 period.

The call will further advance common interests in standards (e.g. cell free networks and related RAN architecture) as well as advances concerning the core network, such as slicing and virtualisation which require more efforts in cloud like core environments and open source approaches.

Scope

The focus should be on large-scale demonstrations and trials towards 5G applications, this to have a strong focus on the harmonization for 5G standards and spectrum.

The proposals should address one of the two areas (a or b):

a) Focus on mmwave and super broadband services: The 5G vision on super broadband services mainly related to very high definition immersive video services (virtual reality) using mmWave frequency bands. This should be in the proposed specific context of the ground/aerial vehicles and also possibly include a focus towards autonomous network technologies toward safe and automated 5G networks.

This focus should include demonstration of 5G technologies concerning,

(1) Access networks, notably: i) Various duplexing technologies with (or without) interference cancellation; ii) Efficient radio transmission technology for the mmwave relay links; iii) Advanced beamforming (fast switching & adaptive hybrid.

(2) Core networks, notably: i) Implementation and Proof of Concepts of 5G core systems prototype software (e.g. AMF, SMF, UPF); ii) Implementation of end-to-end network slicing and orchestration and management of autonomous 5G networks; iii) Implementation of Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC).

b) Focus on interoperability and integration of 5G vertical testbeds on heterogeneous environments: An open approach is to be taken to achieve a closer co-operation in spectrum harmonisation and co-operation in interoperability testing, e.g. in the C-band and/or Ka-band, to achieve coexistence and inter-working between same/different radio access technologies considering both terrestrial (i.e., cellular) and non- terrestrial links (i.e., satellite) incorporating QoS transparency between difference 5G mobile core networks.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of up to EUR 2 million would allow each area to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

- Global interoperability demonstrations for 5G networks, contribution to the integration framework towards access and core.

- Joint contributions to global 5G standards specifications in relevant organisations (e.g. 3GPP, ITU-R), especially in view of 5G phase 2 standardisation (beyond eMBB) and IMT2020 spectrum harmonization.

- Succesful showcasing trials or testbeds with, ideally, joint demonstration across regions.

International cooperation

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