Richard Skalt

It is almost impossible to enter a debate about future technologies and technological or digital sovereignty without stumbling over ‘5G’. The fifth generation of broadband cellular networks is said to usher in a new age built on self-driving cars, smart cities and homes in which the coffee machine, the surveillance camera and the lighting are all connected to the Internet of Things (IoT). However, most of the time discussions about 5G do not just end there. When it comes to controlling a technology said to revolutionize ‘the future of work’, strong competition is to be expected¹. Among some of the leading companies are players from outside of Europe, namely China’s Huawei and ZTE, and US’s Intel, Qualcomm, At&T and Cisco, while the strongest European contenders are Nokia, Ericsson and Samsung². Predictably this imbalance strengthens concerns over the ability of the EU and its member states to shape this key technological development, prompting the European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton to declare that “[with the rollout] of 5G network across the EU, and a growing reliance on digital infrastructures, it is more important than ever to ensure a high level of security of our communication networks”³.

Together with the Core Network (Core), the Radio Access Network (RAN) is one of the two main components of cellular networks. The RAN connects the phone, among other things, to the network via antennae by transmitting and receiving signals to and from our smart devices and base stations which digitize the signals and commit them to the network⁴. Since there are consolidated industries around the producers and distributors of technical equipment, operators have been seeking to diversify and innovate the ecosystem of vendors for RAN. Open RAN provides this environment by providing insights into the protocols and interfaces between radios, hardware and software in the RAN. RAN can then be categorized into three units: The Radio Unit (RU), the Distributed Unit (DU) and the Centralized Unit (CU). According to Nokia (2022), “the RU is [near or integrated into the antenna and is the place] where the radio frequency signals are transmitted, received, amplified and digitized”. The DU is located at or near the RU and the CU is close to the Core, however, both are the computation parts of the base station and are responsible for sending the digitalized radio signal into the network⁴. The O-RAN ALLIANCE distinguishes between different interfaces within the RAN including those for Fronthaul (between RU and DU) and Midhaul (between DU and CU). On a less technical note, opening up these units for innovation and stronger competition among vendors might yield benefits by improving the speed and quality of the different components of RAN.

In January 2021, the European Commission launched the “SNS Work Programme 2021-2022” with the goal of funding large scale research, including trials and pilots, to expand upon 5G evolution and lay the foundation for 6G systems. SNS stands for Smart Networks and Services, which is a European partnership co-led by the European Commission and industry partners in close coordination with the Member States⁵. The SNS expands upon earlier projects with the goal to develop 6G systems based on the 5G Infrastructure Public Private Partnership (5G PPP) initiative between the European Commission and European ICT industry. The EU provides 900 million Euros in funds over 7 years with the expectation that European industry matches this number by the same amount. As part of the EU’s wider strategy of strengthening digital and technological sovereignty, the SNS Work Programme aims to develop 5G infrastructure with a long-term perspective towards 6G systems. The SNS JU Governing Board set out four main complementary work streams: Stream A (RIA): Smart communication components, systems, and networks for 5G Evolution systems, Stream B (RIA): Research for radical technology advancement (in preparation for 6G and radical advancements of IoT, devices and software), Stream C (RIA): SNS Enablers and Proof of Concept (PoCs), including development of experimental infrastructure(s) that could be further used during later phases of SNS, and Stream D (IA): Large Scale SNS Trials and Pilots with Verticals, including the required infrastructure to explore and demonstrate technologies and advanced applications as well as advanced services in the vertical domains⁵.

Since November 30 2021, the Council Regulation 2021/2085 establishing the SNS JU entered into force. The SNS JU’s self-stated main mission is (1) fostering Europe’s digital technological sovereignty in 6G through development and standardisation around 2025 and (2) boosting the deployment of 5G in Europe by coordinating strategic guidance and the rollout of 5G corridors. For this purpose SNS JU has opened itself to the private 6G Smart Networks and Services Industry Association (6G-IA), at the intersection between European Industry and Research for next generation networks and services⁶. SNS Calls for Proposals, as well as other funding and tender opportunities are open as of this year, creating new opportunities and possible avenues for the expansion and development of 5G networks and beyond. The efforts by the European Union aim to increase not only the quality and security of 5G networks, but also the coverage. Using data from the EU’s DESI Index, the European 5G Observatory created this map which shows that coverage tends to be stronger in the Northern and Western Member States of the EU⁷:

As with all new technologies, there are still many debates about the security of the networks and systems being tested and developed right now. To quote Executive Vice-President Margarete Vestager, it is “Our common priority and responsibility [is] to ensure the timely deployment of 5G networks in Europe, while ensuring they are secure. Open RAN architectures create new opportunities in the marketplace, but […] they also raise important security challenges, especially in the short term”.⁸

Sources

1. Chen, Brian X. What You Need to Know About 5G in 2020. 24 September 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/08/technology/personaltech/5g-mobile-network.html
2. Top 10 Companies leading the 5G Network Industry. Emergen Research. 07 April 2022. https://www.emergenresearch.com/blog/top-10-companies-leading-the-5g-network-industry
3. Breton, Thierry. Cybersecurity of 5G networks: EU publishes report on the security of Open RAN. European Commission. 11 May 2022. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_2881
4. Update: Open RAN explained. Nokia. 30 March 2022. https://www.nokia.com/about-us/newsroom/articles/open-ran-explained/
5. Europe launches first large-scale 6G Research and Innovation Programme. European Commission. 17 December 2021. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/europe-launches-first-large-scale-6g-research-and-innovation-programme
6. The Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking. European Commission. Last accessed 13 May 2022. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/smart-networks-and-services-joint-undertaking
7. European 5G scoreboard. European 5G Observatory. https://5gobservatory.eu/observatory-overview/eu-scoreboard/#5G-coverage
8. Vestager, Margarete. Cybersecurity of 5G networks: EU publishes report on the security of Open RAN. European Commission. 11 May 2022. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_2881