The goal of both Hexa-X and Hexa-X-II is to establish Europe as a leader in 6G.
Nokia will lead the Hexa-X-II project, the second phase of the European 6G flagship initiative designed to lay the groundwork for 6G standardization.
Nokia was also in charge of the initial phase of the Hexa-X project.
According to Nokia, Hexa-X is focused on a shared European 6G vision, as well as potential use cases and technical enablers, whilst Hexa-X-II will develop a pre-standardized platform and overall system view.
The Finnish vendor will spearhead the effort, which will involve 44 organizations.
Ericsson will serve as Hexa-X-technical II’s manager. Orange, Telecom Italia, TU Dresden, Oulu University, IMEC, and Atos will assist in the coordination of several task packages.
The European Commission awarded financing for the Hexa-X-II project as part of the Smart Network and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS-JU), according to a news statement from Nokia, stressing that it is the next critical step toward bringing key industry stakeholders in Europe together.
The ultimate purpose of both Hexa-X and Hexa-X-II is to establish Europe as a leader in 6G, similar to what Deutsche Telekom is doing in Germany with the 6G-TakeOff research project, a program funded by the German government.
“Nokia is honored to lead in this pioneering project. In the 6G era, the digital, physical, and human worlds will become far more integrated,” said Peter Vetter, president of Nokia’s Bell Labs Core Research, in a statement.
“Our goals must reflect this level of integration and inter-dependency. As billions more people and devices get connected, urbanization intensifies, and we strive to manage the limitations on energy and materials, the role of networks and 6G will only deepen. It is essential that we keep the larger context in mind as we imagine the new network,” he added.
According to Nokia, the Hexa-X-II consortium’s mission is to tackle the following societal challenges:
Hexa-X-II will investigate technologies that contribute to a zero-carbon footprint and reduce energy and material use. It seeks to connect people in poor countries as well as underserved residents of developed communities & built to assure data openness, security and privacy, and network robustness.
The Hexa-X-II project is set to begin construction in January 2023 and will last two and a half years.