Portuguese telecom R&D company specializing in 5G network architectures, virtualization, and edge computing for vertical industry applications.
Altice Labs is Portugal's leading telecom R&D company, operating as the innovation arm of the Altice/MEO group. They develop network infrastructure technologies — from software-defined networking and network function virtualization to 5G architectures and cloud-native platforms. Their core work centers on building, testing, and validating next-generation telecom systems, contributing production-grade components to EU research consortia rather than theoretical research. More recently, they have expanded into applied domains like smart cities, public safety communications, and VR-based health applications.
Central to their portfolio from 5GTANGO and SLICENET through 5G-VINNI, 5GROWTH, 5GZORRO, and 5G-EPICENTRE — covering network slicing, vertical industries, and end-to-end 5G facility validation.
Deep involvement in SELFNET, SONATA, SUPERFLUIDITY, and later containerized VNF/CNF work in 5G-EPICENTRE and 5GZORRO.
RESISTO focused on communication infrastructure resilience, 5GZORRO on zero-touch security with AI and blockchain, and 5G-EPICENTRE on public protection and disaster relief (PPDR).
Sharing Cities was their largest-funded project (EUR 710K), integrating digital infrastructure with local renewables, e-mobility, and citizen engagement.
Recent projects 5G-EPICENTRE and 5GROWTH focus on containerization, edge computing, and cloud-native network applications for vertical industries.
VR2Care (2022-2024) applies virtual reality to physical rehabilitation for older adults — a departure from pure telecom into health-tech.
Between 2015 and 2018, Altice Labs spread across foundational telecom R&D — software-defined networking, network virtualization, converged cloud-RAN, and service orchestration — alongside a detour into smart city infrastructure and service design research. From 2019 onward, their focus sharpened dramatically around 5G: network slicing for vertical industries, zero-touch automation, spectrum sharing, AI-driven network management, and cloud-native edge computing. Their most recent projects signal expansion beyond pure telecom into application domains — public safety (PPDR) and VR-based healthcare — suggesting they are moving up the stack from infrastructure builder to platform and application enabler.
Altice Labs is transitioning from telecom infrastructure R&D toward 5G-enabled application platforms, increasingly targeting vertical sectors like public safety and health — making them a strong partner for projects needing real-world 5G testbeds and deployment expertise.
Altice Labs operates exclusively as a consortium participant — they have never coordinated an H2020 project, preferring to contribute technical components within large, multi-partner consortia. With 215 unique partners across 27 countries, they maintain an exceptionally broad network rather than working repeatedly with the same groups. This pattern suggests a reliable, well-connected industrial partner that brings production-grade telecom infrastructure and testbed access without seeking project leadership overhead.
With 215 unique consortium partners across 27 countries, Altice Labs has one of the broadest collaboration networks among Portuguese telecom companies in H2020. Their partnerships span nearly all EU member states, with particularly strong connections to the European 5G research ecosystem.
Altice Labs brings something rare to EU consortia: they are not a university lab or a startup, but the R&D arm of a major telecom operator (Altice/MEO), meaning they can validate research outputs on real commercial network infrastructure. Their continuous involvement across the full 5G evolution — from early NFV and SDN through network slicing to cloud-native edge computing — gives them unmatched practical depth in taking 5G concepts from lab to deployment. For consortium builders, they offer a credible path from prototype to production that few academic or SME partners can match.
