Higher Speed Optical Access Networks and future end-to-end Packet Optical Network Architecture in 6G
Call text (as on F&T portal)
View on F&T portalExpected Outcome:
The main outcome will be the availability of higher speed optical access networks and future end-to-end packet optical network architecture to be integrated and interfaced to the overall 6G architecture. Such systems can be applied to all domains in the system and allow a very energy-efficient data transport for very high throughput rates. Main targets are:
- Integration of high performance and highly efficient passive optical network based on various technologies (e.g., PON or DWDM) and adaptive multiband optical transmission, including xhaul into the overall 6G architecture.
- Integration of photonics and wireless systems including sensing.
- Protocols for the future end-to-end packet optical network architecture by taking into account adaptive multiband optical transmission, open and disaggregated optical networks.
- AI enhanced green optical networks and systems and AI enabled optical network automation as well as optical sensing for environment and networks.
- Enhanced trustworthiness with security enhancement and increased resilience.
The proposed activities should cover both R&I issues for low TRL topics and plan, towards the end of the SNS implementation, for demonstration of an end-to-end architecture, especially for very wideband use cases to demonstrate the overall energy consumption.
Necessary photonics components are expected to be provided by other initiatives such as Photonics 21 and/or Chips JU for use in the project, to exploit synergies between different initiatives.
Objective:
Please refer to the "Specific Challenges and Objectives" section for Stream B-03 in the Work Programme, available under ‘Topic Conditions and Documents - Additional Documents’.
Scope:
The scope of this topic focuses on the following areas:
- Higher speed optical access networks and future end-to-end packet optical network architecture in all network domains to provide very high capacity and to support very wideband services and applications in an energy-efficient way.
- Architectures and protocols for access and backhaul use cases and potentially for optical space links in NTN systems, where the components and systems are developed in other initiatives but integrated in SNS platforms.
- Integration of wireless and optical and optical sensing as support for services.
- AI support for network automation and efficient use of resources with respect to energy consumption and efficiency.
- Quantum networking over fiber for trustworthy systems and applications.
- Impact of photonic systems in 6G on energy consumption / sustainability.
Note: Applicants should clearly identify the areas/priorities they address in case they only cover a subset.
News flashes
PROPOSAL NUMBERS
Call HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01 has closed on the 18 September 2025 at 17.00.00
147 proposals have been submitted.
The breakdown per topic is:
- HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-01-01: 46 proposals
- HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-01-02: 28 proposals
- HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-02: 30 proposals
- HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-03-01: 6 proposals
- HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-03-02: 6 proposals
- HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-04-01: 11 proposals
- HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-04-02: 13 proposals
- HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-05: 4 proposals
- HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-C-01: 3 proposals
Evaluation results are expected to be communicated in January 2026
Opening date: 2025-05-22 (1 year ago)
Closing date: 2025-09-18 (1 year ago)
Procedure: single-stage
Budget: 8,000,000
Expected grants: 1
Contribution: 8,000,000 - 8,000,000
This call topic has been appended 2 times by the EC with news.
-
2026-10-15
proposal numberscall horizon-ju-sns-2025... -
2026-10-15
the submission session is now available...
HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01
Call topics are often grouped together in a call. Sometimes this is for a thematic reason, but often it is also for practical reasons.
There are 8 other topics in this call:
Showing the latest information. Found 11 versions of this call topic in the F&T portal.
Information from
- 2026-03-14_06-38-58
- 2025-10-28_15-47-10
- 2025-07-02_03-30-54
- 2025-07-01_03-30-48
- 2025-06-18_03-30-43
- 2025-05-23_03-30-19
- 2025-05-20_03-30-17
- 2025-04-30_03-30-33
- 2025-04-25_03-30-26
- 2025-04-17_03-30-22
- 2025-04-15_03-30-09
Check the differences between the versions.
Annotations
Events
Hand-picked events relevant to this call topic.
No events yet
There are currently no events linked to this call topic.
Timeline
Grant agreement signed · 18 May 2026 (4 months ago)
All expected milestones for this call have passed.
Work programme published
22 Mar 2025 · est.
Call published
15 Apr 2025
Call opens
22 May 2025
Call closes
18 Sep 2025
Outcome expected
18 Feb 2026 · est.
Grant agreement signed
18 May 2026 · est.
-
Work programme published Estimated
22 Mar 2025 · 1 year ago
Topics are listed in the Work Programme before the call opens. Spotting this early gives you a head start on partner search and proposal planning.
-
Call published
15 Apr 2025 · 1 year ago
This topic was first published in TopicTree.
-
Call opens
22 May 2025 · 1 year ago
Submissions can be made from this date.
-
Call closes
18 Sep 2025 · 1 year ago
Deadline to submit a proposal.
-
Outcome expected Estimated
18 Feb 2026 · 7 months ago
The maximum time to inform applicants of the evaluation outcome is five months after the call closes.
-
Grant agreement signed Estimated
18 May 2026 · 4 months ago
The maximum time to sign the grant agreement is three months after applicants are informed of the outcome.
Funded Projects
Loading...
Project information comes from CORDIS (for Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe) and will be sourced from F&T Portal (for Digital Europe projects)
Ecosystem bubbles
This call topic is part of the following thematic bubbles.