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Europe is aiming to be at the forefront of 6G and artificial intelligence (AI) by staking its claim on the next generation of global communications: Non-terrestrial networks (NTN).
The European Space Agency and the GSMA Foundry announced at the Mobile World Congress a funding programme worth up to €100 million to accelerate the convergence of satellite and mobile technologies.
The connectivity serves as the “backbone” to unleashing 6G and AI technology, said Antonio Franchi, Head of 5G/6G NTN Programme Office at the European Space Agency
“The funds will develop technologies, networks, services which ultimately will benefit society as a whole and industry in the digitalisation of everything,” he told Euronews Next.
The types of technologies it could enable include new digital services, such as telemedicine, telesurgery operations, autonomous driving, and precision agriculture.
It funds one of the most significant European public commitments yet to the commercialisation of hybrid satellite-terrestrial networks, and comes at a moment when global competition in next-generation connectivity is intensifying.
The fund will be available to EU member states with companies or organisations by submitting a formal proposal. A decision will then come from ESA.
The funding targets four pillars: AI-driven management of multi-orbit satellite and terrestrial networks; Direct-to-Device (D2D) connectivity for smartphones and IoT devices; collaborative 5G/6G testbeds; and early-stage 6G research into edge intelligence and advanced IoT.
“By combining the reach of the mobile industry with ESA’s space expertise, we are unlocking a new era of connectivity,” said GSMA Chief Technology Officer Alex Sinclair, adding that the initiative would bring transformative benefits “even in the most remote regions”.
A European push
While American companies are currently leading the “space race” for satellite internet, Franchi believes European expertise in high-tech manufacturing and specialised software can provide a competitive, independent alternative.
“We want to help European industry step up and show their true colours,” said Franchi. “Public funding is here to mitigate the risk, allowing companies to dare to develop solutions that can scale globally.”
At the Mobile World Congress, the programme is putting European companies front and centre, including Nokia, Filtronic, Celeste, Lasting Software, OQ Technology and MinWave Technologies.
They will demonstrate what that future looks like with live displays of NTN orchestration and hybrid network architectures.
The main centrepiece will focus on Europe’s space ambitions with a mixed-reality model of ESA’s Argonaut lunar lander — the European-built craft designed to deliver cargo to the Moon. It will allow visitors to remotely operate a training rover over a live satellite link. Nokia RXRM’s 360° cameras will then stream footage from inside the LUNA facility, the European lunar analogue site.
The message being that Europe’s connectivity infrastructure is key, not just for Earth’s technologies, but for operations on the Moon too.