Imagine running a highway system where thousands of different lanes need different speed limits, widths, and rules — all changing in real time. That's what 5G network operators face when they carve up one physical network into hundreds of virtual "slices" for different customers. MonB5G built an AI-powered autopilot that watches over all these slices, spots problems, fixes them, and keeps everything secure — without a human needing to touch anything. Think of it as a self-driving car, but for telecom networks.
Telecom operators rolling out 5G need to run hundreds or thousands of virtual network slices simultaneously — each with different speed, reliability, and security requirements for different enterprise customers. Managing all of this manually is impossibly expensive and slow, and traditional centralized management systems simply can't keep up with the scale and complexity that 5G demands.
The project built an AI-powered distributed management system for 5G network slicing, producing 27 deliverables including 2 working demonstrations: one for AI-assisted security monitoring and enforcement, and another for zero-touch multi-domain service management — both tested on real 5G testbeds.
If you are a telecom operator struggling to manage hundreds of network slices for different enterprise customers — this project developed an AI-driven system demonstrated across 2 use cases on real 5G testbeds that automates slice management end-to-end, reducing the need for manual intervention while maintaining service-level agreements across multiple domains.
If you are a cloud provider expanding into edge computing and multi-access edge computing (MEC) — this project built and demonstrated zero-touch multi-domain service management that extends standard orchestration platforms with embedded AI capabilities, enabling automated resource allocation and fault handling across distributed infrastructure.
If you are a security firm protecting telecom networks from threats — this project demonstrated AI-assisted security monitoring and enforcement for multi-tenant 5G environments, with trust management mechanisms designed for cross-domain operations involving multiple operators and service providers.
The project was a publicly funded Research and Innovation Action (RIA), so core research results are typically available through the consortium partners. Licensing terms would need to be negotiated directly with the coordinator or specific technology-owning partners. With 8 industry partners in the consortium, some components may already be integrated into commercial products.
The system was designed specifically for massive-scale network slicing — managing large numbers of coexisting slices with different performance requirements. It was trialed on partners' 5G testbeds across 2 use cases, demonstrating cross-domain operations. Moving from testbed to full commercial deployment would require integration with specific operator infrastructure.
As an RIA project with 12 partners across 8 countries, IP ownership is distributed among consortium members according to their grant agreement. The 67% industry ratio (8 industry partners including 3 SMEs) suggests strong commercial intent. Specific IP terms should be discussed with the coordinator in Spain.
MonB5G was deliberately built to reuse standards-based MANO (Management and Orchestration) and MEC (Multi-access Edge Computing) platforms, extending them with AI capabilities rather than replacing them. This means it's designed to plug into existing telecom infrastructure rather than requiring a full system overhaul.
The project ran from November 2019 to April 2023 and produced 27 deliverables including 2 working demonstrations. Based on the testbed validation stage, a telecom operator would likely need 12-18 months for integration, customization, and internal testing before production use.
Two concrete demonstrations were built and tested: AI-assisted security monitoring and enforcement, and zero-touch multi-domain service management. These were trialed on real 5G testbeds, moving beyond theory into working prototypes validated in controlled environments.
The MonB5G consortium is strongly industry-oriented with 8 out of 12 partners (67%) coming from industry, complemented by 2 universities and 2 research organizations across 8 European countries. The inclusion of 3 SMEs alongside larger industry players suggests a mix of agile innovators and established telecom companies. The coordinator, Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya in Spain, is a well-known telecom research center. This composition — heavy on industry, spread across major European telecom markets including Germany, Finland, France, and Spain — indicates the technology was developed with real commercial deployment in mind, not just academic publication.
Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (CTTC), Spain — a leading telecom research center. Contact their technology transfer office for licensing or collaboration inquiries.
SciTransfer can connect you directly with the MonB5G team and help structure a technology evaluation or licensing discussion tailored to your network infrastructure needs.
