Shaping Industry & Society Beyond 5G

Agenda

All times are CET

Day 1

4 May 2021

6G has been increasingly in the news during the past year, but it means different things to different people. This opening session sets out clearly what 6G needs to deliver for businesses of all kinds, what its aspirations are… and explodes some misconceptions.

Key Discussions

11.00 – 12.30    What 6G Is & Isn’t: Vision, KPIs, Services, Requirements

This session aims to explore the boundaries between 6G and other technologies and concepts. By doing so, we can start to see what could be unique and useful in 6G to support the societies and industries of the future.

• Alan Carlton, VP Wireless Labs Europe, InterDigital
• David Lister, Senior R&D Manager, Futurist, Vodafone Group
• David Soldani, CTSO Asia-Pacific, Huawei
• Emilio Calvanese Strinati, New-6G Program Director, CEA-LETI
• Rahim Tafazolli, Director of Institute for Communication Systems and 6GIC, University of Surrey
• Stephen Douglas, Head of 5G Strategy, Spirent

12.30 – 14.00    What Does 6G Need to Deliver to Other Industries?

Arguably 5G’s adoption by enterprise customers has been slowed by failing to engage with other industries early enough during the development process. This session explores the lessons from 5G and how this translates into requirements early in the development of 6G.

• Mike Johns, CEO, Digital Mind State
• Mischa Dohler, Chair of Wireless Communications, King’s College London
• Pamela Kumar, Director General, TSDSI
• Roger Nichols, 6G Program Manager, Keysight Technologies
• Shamik Mishra, VP & CTO Connectivity, Capgemini Engineering and R&D
• Elson Sutanto, Principal Analyst, Juniper Research

Although 5G deployments are still in early stages, we can already see indications of significant shifts in the competitive environment and business strategies for vendors and carriers alike. This afternoon examines what this may lead to and what it implies about 6G as a force for business change, both within the telecoms and other sectors.

Key Discussions

14.30 – 16.00    From Network Ownership Centricity to Service-Oriented Networks

We are already seeing movements in the market that suggest the dominance of business models based on owning and operating a network end-to-end is weakening. This session explores the relationship between new business models and network evolution, competition, investment and more.

• Hans-Jurgen Zepernick, Professor of Radio Communications, Blekinge Institute of Technology
• Heikki Hämmäinen, Professor, University of Aalto
• Gavin Horn, Senior Director, Wireless Research, Qualcomm
• Paul Timmers, CEO, Iivii
• Richard Webb, CCS Insight
• Volker Ziegler, CTO, Nokia Bell Labs

16.00 – 17.30    Verticals-Centric Network Operations

Until recently most major MNOs have been highly invested in a mass-market B2C model, with network technology and operations developed around this. With a new focus on industry-specific requirements the way that networks interact with their users, their services and the OSS/BSS stack is starting to develop; but where do we go from here?

• Mikael Rönnholm, Head of Innovation Strategy, CEVT
• Patrick Waldemar, VP Telenor Research, Telenor Group
• Ryan Szporer, Editor, 6GWorld
• Steven Carlini, VP Innovation & Data Centre, Energy Management BU, Schneider Electric
• Sylvia Lu, Head of Technology Strategy, u-blox & Board Member, UK5G & 5G-ACIA
• Tommaso Melodia, Director of Institute for the Wireless Internet of Things, Northeastern University

Day 2

5 May 2021

Europe is investing significant amounts in 6G development and has taken bold steps to grow out of the Covid-19 pandemic using digital tools. There is optimism that digitalisation can bring a new era of flourishing to the region, but this depends on coordinated governance and policy as much as on technology development. How does digitalisation and the journey to 6G fit in with an overall strategy for Europe and its citizens? Join us for a deep dive with senior leaders from European institutions.

Featuring

• Colin Willcock, Chairman, 5G-IA
• Harald Gruber, Head of Digital Infrastructure, European Investment Bank
• Konstantinos Chalkiotis, VP 5G Solutions, Access & Home Networks, Deutsche Telekom
• Peter Jarich, Head of GSMA Intelligence, GSMA
• Pearse O’Donohue, Director of Future Networks, DG CONNECT, European Commission

The digitalisation of Europe faces significant policy challenges and it doesn’t take place in a vacuum. This theme brings together experts from around the world to spell out their competing and complementary plans and activities in the development of 6G. Investment, research and development are clearly areas where different parts of the world can compete; but can they collaborate on increasingly-critical global issues such as data handling and privacy?

Key Discussions

11.00 – 13.00    Global 6G Initiatives

This session will provide you with insights into the approaches and priorities of regions shaping the development of an increasingly multi-polar connected world beyond 5G. As well as USA, China and Europe, you can hear from the people helping direct the journey towards 6G in the key markets of India, Taiwan and South Korea.

• Alexia Gonzalez Fanfalone, Policy Analyst -Telecommunication Policy & Regulation, OECD
• Andre Fuetsch, President AT&T Labs & CTO, AT&T & Chair, Next G Alliance Full Member Group
• Bernard Barani, Deputy Head of Unit, DG Connect, European Commission
• Brijendra “BK” Syngal, Chairman, 6G Council, CMAI
• DongKu Kim, Co-Chair 6G R&D Strategy Committee & Professor, Yonsei University
• Li Fung Chang, Chief Architect, 5G Program Office, ITRI
• Zhisheng Niu, Professor, Department of Electronics Engineering, Tsinghua University

13.00 – 14.00    Data Sharing, Privacy & Consent in the World of 6G

6G is expected to move us much further towards the ideal of ubiquitous connectivity for a myriad of devices, sensors, and autonomous applications. This creates the fundamental enabler for Future Smart Services for homes, factories, cities, and governments, which in turn rely on sharing of large volumes of often personal data between individuals and organisations, or between individuals and governments.

With the multidimensional flows of rich data, the challenge is to update our concepts of privacy, consent and minimising potential harms. A far from simple task.

• Ian Oppermann, Chief Data Scientist, New South Wales Government
• Marina Yastreboff, President (NSW) & Convenor National Advisory Board, AUSCL
• Jay Guo, Distinguished Professor & Founding Director, Global Big Data Technologies Centre
• Aurelie Jacquet, Chair Standards Committee on AI (IT-043), Standards Australia
• Peter Leonard, Principal, Data Synergies

Creating a concept for future systems is a good start, but it will take global coordination to turn concepts into reality. Fundamental elements such as spectrum availability, coordination, sharing and licensing are make a huge difference to the commercial viability of any proposed system. Meanwhile, as open source activities gain traction and the technologies involved in networking diversify, what does this mean for a traditional standardisation roadmap? Take part in this session as we explore the hard questions of how to deliver on the promise of 6G.

Key Discussions:

14.30 – 16.00 The Standardisation Roadmap

A variety of process, technology and political challenges pose problems for traditional approaches to standardisation. At the same time, approaches based on an open source methodology would struggle to replicate the strengths of standardisation. Join our experts to understand how essential standards bodies are thinking about the way ahead.

• Alain Mourad, Director Engineering I&D, InterDigital
• David Boswarthick, Director, New Technologies, ETSI
• Diego Lopez, Senior Technology Expert, Telefonica I+D
• Giovanni Romano, Technology Communication & Standardization, TIM
• Joseph Levy, Principal Engineer, InterDigital
• Raymond Knopp, Professor in Information Systems, Eurecom

16.00 – 17.30 The Spectrum Roadmap

Non-terrestrial networks, new use cases for telecoms services and the physical properties of new spectrum bands are only a few drivers of change among many in the coming years. Are these enough to create a paradigm shift in the way spectrum is managed?

• Cristina Data, Director of Spectrum Policy & Analysis, Spectrum Group, OFCOM
• Eric Fournier, Director for Spectrum Planning and International Affairs, ANFR
• Monisha Ghosh, CTO, FCC
• Prakash Moorut, Head of Spectrum Standardization, Nokia Bell Labs
• Sana Salous, Chair of Communications Systems, Durham University
• Simon Saunders, Director Emerging Technologies, OFCOM

Day 3

6 May 2021

While previous days’ keynotes have focussed on the demands and visions from political and industrial stakeholders, this session brings a more pragmatic view. What, if anything, can and should the R&D community do differently as we develop 6G compared to previous generations of connectivity? What changes in mindset and approach should we adopt if we want to deliver on the promise of beyond-5G communications? Join this interactive session to explore further.

• Catherine Van Holder, Futurist
• Derek O’Halloran, Head, Shaping the Future of Digital Economy and New Value Creation, World Economic Forum
• Matthew Bloxham, Head of EMEA TMT Research, Bloomberg Intelligence
• Matti Latva-aho, Director for 6G Flagship, University of Oulu

During this time we will look into the fundamental structures of a future 6G. We have already seen the start of a movement beyond terrestrial telecoms; meanwhile, the likely heterogeneity of Beyond-5G systems threatens to create massive architectural and operational complexity. Engage with a wide variety of thought leaders to explore the challenges and possible solutions that lie ahead as we plan from Earth to space.

Key Discussions

11.00 – 12.30    Satellite & Non-Terrestrial Networks

With the development of new satellite constellations, high-altitude platforms and drones a ‘network of the skies’ has the capacity to complement terrestrial networks in new ways. Beyond headlines driven by billionaires, what does the cutting edge look like and what can we expect to come?

• Antonio Franchi, Head of Future Programme Acquisition, European Space Agency
• Barry Evans, Head of Satellite Communications Research, ICR & 5GIC, University of Surrey
• Kieran Arnold, Director of Ubiquitous Connectivity, Satellite App Catapult
• Nicolas Chuberre, Solution Line Manager, Thales Alenia Space
• Tomaso De Cola, Group Leader, German Aerospace Center (DLR)

12.30 – 14.00    6G Networks

Autonomous, heterogenous, flexible; just a few of the terms used when forecasting the shape of networks beyond 5G. We are some way away from fully achieving any of these qualities, but what can or should we be aiming for? Experts at the leading edge share their observations and activities.   

• Azimeh Sefidcon, Director, Cloud Systems & Platforms Research, Ericsson
• Maria Cuevas, Mobility Research Theme Principle Manager, BT
• Matti Latva-aho, Director for 6G Flagship, University of Oulu
• Richard Li, Chief Scientist, Network Technologies, Futurewei
• Rui Aguiar, Professor, University of Aveiro
• Tarik Taleb, Professor, University of Aalto

The final 6GSymposium session explores some of the essential building blocks of future networks. As networks grow more complicated and include additional capabilities for enterprise clients the need for autonomous decision-making in the network, and especially at the edge, skyrockets. Delivering commercially viable 6G services over the air will also require new concepts in radio. This afternoon brings together experts from across the value chain to debate the challenges, opportunities and ways forward in these critical areas.

Key Discussions

14.30 – 16.00    AI, Machine Learning & Intelligent Edge

If we are to achieve many of the hopes for beyond-5G services, networks will have to take more decisions and manage more autonomously. This places a significant burden on the development of AI and machine learning in the network, and especially at the edge. What are the latest developments in this vital sphere?

• Alex Reznik, Former Chairman, ETSI MEC & Distinguished Technologist, HPE
• Chih-Lin I, Chief Scientist, Wireless Technologies, China Mobile Research Institute
• Detlef Nauck, Head of AI & Data Science Research, BT
• Mostafa Essa, AI & Data Analytics Distinguished Engineer, Vodafone
• Rahim Tafazolli, Director of Institute for Communication Systems and 6GIC, University of Surrey

16.00 – 17.30    6G Radio

Demands for higher frequencies, lower latency, higher bandwidths and more are pushing researchers to develop entirely new concepts and technology stacks, from microelectronics upwards. Join us as we walk through key elements in a revolution for radio.

• Ari Pouttu, Professor – Centre For Wireless Communications, University of Oulu
• Gerhard Fettweis, Vodafone Chair Mobile Communications, TU Dresden
• Harish Viswanathan, 6G Principal Architect, Nokia Bell Labs
• Izzat Darwazeh, Professor, UCL
• Yi Ma, Reader in Cognitive Communications, University of Surrey