Imagine the internet's backbone as a highway. Right now, we are running out of lanes to handle all the new data from VR and AR. This project builds a 'multi-story' highway using special fibers and AI to manage traffic automatically, making it faster and using much less electricity.
Current optical networks struggle to scale capacity for beyond 5G services like VR/AR without massive increases in energy consumption and manual management complexity.
A sustainable transport network architecture using Multi-Band and Space Division Multiplexing, supported by AI-driven autonomous control systems and power-efficient transceivers.
If you are a network operator dealing with skyrocketing data traffic from VR/AR services — this project developed a joint Multi-Band and Space Division Multiplexing architecture that increases capacity while reducing energy consumption.
If you are a provider dealing with high costs of optical-electrical-optical conversions — this project developed converged packet-optical solutions and smart NICs that reduce these conversions to save power and cost.
If you are a vendor dealing with rigid, manual network management — this project developed AI/ML-aided service management and sliceable transceivers that allow for autonomous, near-real-time network operations.
Based on available project data, the project targets cost-effective capacity increases by reducing the number of O/E/O conversions and using power-efficient Digital Signal Processing.
Yes, the architecture is designed to span access, aggregation, and metro/long-haul segments, specifically to support beyond 5G requirements across these layers.
Based on available project data, specific licensing terms are not mentioned, but the project involves 10 industrial partners including major vendors like Ericsson and Infinera.
It integrates via open packet/optical white boxes using smart Network Interface Cards (NICs) and Data Processing Units (DPUs) to decouple control from management.
The project runs from 2023-01-01 to 2025-12-31, with the first period focused on defining requirements and modeling data plane technologies.
The project is heavily industry-led with a 62% industry ratio, comprising 10 companies including tier-1 operators (Telefonica, TIM) and global vendors (Ericsson, Infinera, ADVA). This high level of industrial involvement, combined with 3 SMEs and 6 academic/research centers, suggests a strong path toward commercialization and practical market application.
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