On 28^th April 2021 in Brussels, Dr Colin Willcock, Chairman of the Board of the 5G Infrastructure Association (5G IA) and Professor Rui Luis Andrade Aguiar, Chairman of NetworldEurope ETP Steering Board, co-signed a collaboration agreement to foster cooperation and synergies on European Research Activities on the ICT sector for Smart Networks and Services.

5G IA and NetworldEurope ETP signed a collaboration agreement to facilitate research and innovation activities for beyond 5G and 6G networks as well as smart networks and services.

Although the two organizations have already enjoyed an excellent collaboration during the past years, the expected Smart Networks and Services Institutionalized Partnership requires a further strengthening and coordination of their activities. The collaboration agreement captures the mutual understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the European Research and Innovation ecosystem in the context of Horizon Europe for the next decade. It also captures the expected role of each organization in the framework of their collaboration.

The mission of 5G IA is to create the next generation of communication networks and services. Ubiquitous connectivity will enable the European industry to successfully compete on global markets, open up new innovation and business opportunities and facilitate the creation of smart networks and services for the benefit of the society.

The mission of NetworldEurope is to to develop position documents on technological, research-oriented and societal issues, including an updated Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) for Europe in the communication networks domain in an open process in order to guide industrial and long-term oriented research and to provide means for future economic exploitation in global standards and the widespread deployment of communication systems and networks.

Dr. Colin Willcock, Chairman of the Board of the 5G IA, stated: “As our world becomes ever more digitised, it is vital that we collaborate across a broad range of domains and stakeholders. For this reason, this MoU is important for extending the scope and participation involved in Smart Networks and Services partnership through a closer working agreement with the NetWorldEurope ETP”.

Professor Rui Luis Andrade Aguiar, Chairman of NetWorldEurope Steering Board, said: “In an increasingly globalized world, Europe must develop a strong unified approach to lead innovation in new communication systems. This MoU formalizes the reality of strong collaboration already existing in the Smart Networks and Services partnership, by improving the communication channels between both associations.”

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