Net4Future has the ambition to harmonize the results of the RESTART program and study how emerging societal goals can be transformed into technological solutions for future telecommunication (TLC) networks and services. To address this general goal, the project will consider the following objectives:

  • Vision: to analyze multiple future scenarios and relevant responsibilities and opportunities for the telecommunication networks;
  • Synergies between projects: to provide a complete overview of architectural issues and policies of future networks integrating key results of other project lines towards inclusiveness and sustainability;
  • User perspective: to improve trustiness on network technologies and services, by means of solutions for improving technology control and acceptance for users;
  • Shared tools: to define platforms, components, APIs and tools that are needed to build advanced beyond-5G testbeds and validation instruments for integrated demonstrations;
  • Regulation: to analyze the innovation potential of regulation aspects, by considering: easing of regulation on the wholesale market, solutions for holding together competition and technological investments.

Net4Future is part of Spoke 2 – Integration of Networks and Services

Project PI: Ilenia Tinnirello

  • Strategic Foresight for Telecommunications, in view of sociocultural, political, economic, environmental, ethical, and demographic dimensions. Definition of a methodology for looking into the future, based on the three horizons approach.
  • Analysis of program activities with impact on sustainability.
  • In-depth analysis of future research and business opportunities, new business models and digital market breakdown, with focus on possible use cases demonstrating new interactions models between traditional and emerging stakeholders.
  • Analysis of barriers and technology perception by end-users, with focus on XR/VR based applications, technology acceptance and privacy-utility control by end-users.
  • Design of a portable and highly configurable testbed for experimenting next generation wireless access networks: reference architectures for the set-up of small testbed on 5G and IoT networks and prototyping of battery-free sensors.
  • Analysis of regulation and legal aspects for networks and services at national and EU level, from the Package Directives Package 2002 and 2009 EC, to the European Convergence Electronic Communication Code 2018 and the Digital Service Act 2022. Analysis of data governance and the impact of asymmetrical regulation and essential facilities for the over-the-top.
 
  • Application examples of the three horizons methodology to some relevant threats/opportunities of telecommunications.
  • Clustering of digital enablers and their related verticals.
  • Definition of use cases enlightening interactions between traditional and emerging stakeholders: smart homes and energy communities.
  • Solutions for low-cost large-scale IoT networks and applications.
  • Integration of software components for the set-up of beyond-5G and LoRa testbeds.
  • Review of program projects and potential synergies/overlapping, with special attention sustainability aspects.
  • Review of Italian, French, UK and European EU regulation.


Papers:
G. De Minico, The Challenge of the Virtual World for Independent Authorities, in European Public Law, 29:1(2023). 

Razzaqueh, A. Baiocchi: Grant-free transmissions based on successive interference cancellation in IoT. 35th International Teletraffic Congress (ITC 35), Turin, Italy, 3-5 October 2023, pp. 1-9, conference website: http://itc35.itc-conference.org   

S. Mangione, A. Dino, G. Garbo, D. Croce, Crystal oscillator error compensation in software defined radio for 5G network testbeds, EUCNC 2024 

G. Corazza, Scientific contribution to the «Handbook of Futures» edited by R. Poli, Elgar Publishing, «Creativity and Futures Studies» 
Industrial partners of the core project include fixed and mobile operators, as well as a technology provider.

Innovation for more intensive exploitation of digital infrastructures:  to built a fertile ground for quickly overcoming the digital divide existing in the country and to create a digital culture by citizens and public administration. The innovations supported in this area involve those undertaken for the transformation of small villages into smart cities, in order to generate positive chain effects such as the economic development of the area, the reduction of the digital divide and the fight against depopulation. A first example on how industrial partners have been committed to pursue this general purpose is represented by Pitigliano, the village overlooking the Tuscan Maremma which has just become the first small digital town in Italy thanks to the Open Fiber’s connectivity and the implementation of advanced digital services. The initiatives for the digitalisation of the village, which the company is going to replicate on a national scale, are:  experimentation with augmented reality in the tourism sector, to enhance the city's cultural heritage;  monitoring of the territory thanks to the scientific coordination of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology. The optical fiber laid by Open Fiber will act as a distributed sensor to collect information thanks to ENEA's precision instruments;  application of a Public Energy Living Lab project (developed by the ENEA institution) to schools, hospitals and public lighting systems, via management efficiency services aimed at the Municipality and citizens.

Innovation to address environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations: including how to minimise their energy intensity and carbon footprints, safeguard data privacy and security, reduce disturbance to local communities and support positive labour practices and reporting. Digital technologies can play an important role in supporting the achievement of the EU’s climate objectives and in this regard, industrial players are reflecting on how to steady the connectivity for services related to the green transition (such smart grids, fiber sensing, smart communities). Technology advancements are going to be placed  for both human and non-human users (e.g. 5G/6G; high-capacity fixed infrastructures, IoT, edge/core-cloud) and applications and services in several different sectors: agriculture, commerce, energy, finance, industry, media, health, safety/security, transportation.

Innovation for building the future highways for fiber communications: looking for solutions to promote the definitive migration from copper-based legacy networks to entirely ultra-broadband solutions, thus trying to encourage as much as possible to reduce the number of exchanges and connectivity networks necessary for offering the service to the end user. This is an important initiative to to produce benefits in economic, social and environmental terms. The prerequisite is the achievement of the objective of the Digital Decade advanced by the European Union, according to which, by 2030, all end users must be covered by a gigabit network up to the network termination point.
Program partners: Cascade calls partners:
Net4Future investigates the challenges and future trajectories of telecommunication networks in Italy, by applying the three horizons methodology typical of Strategic Foresight. We started from the analysis of current structural problems, such as the starvation of the market and the delays in 5G implementation, and then considered the most relevant trends, under different dimensions: market/economic models, regulatory frameworks, technical advancements and users expectations/perspectives.

Net4Future promoted the organization of a panel titled "XR impact on Technical and Societal Challenges" within the international conference IFIP Networking 2024, moderated by Stefania Colonnese (Sapienza University of Rome), with Ilenia Tinnirello (University of Palermo/Catania) and Ilaria Rinaldi (University of Bologna, DEI-Marconi Institute for Creativity, Italy) as panelists. 

The panel presented the project Net4Future, which aims to study how network technologies will foster sustainable and innovative solutions. Following this, the concept of foresight has been discussed, highlighting its importance in strategic planning and how it enables organizations to prepare for future challenges and opportunities.

The discussion then shifted to a groundbreaking project that employs augmented reality to assist blind individuals, focusing on its inclusive technology and potential impacts on enhancing life quality.

Additionally, a project utilizing virtual reality for educational purposes has been presented, emphasizing its goals to create immersive learning environments. The panel delved into the development of upward and downward scenarios, examining current trends and their significance in forecasting future developments. Finally, the panel concluded with a presentation on a UNESCO project aimed at envisioning the future of global cultural and educational landscapes. 
1. Publications
Expected: at least 40 publications on 36 months
Accomplished: 12 (2 contributions to a book, 4 journals, 2 position papers, 4 conference papers)
Readiness: 72%

2.Joint Publications
Expected: 8 on 36 months
Achieved: 2
Readiness: 60%

3.Number of talks/communication/engagement events on the project topics
Expected: 15 talks or event chairing/organizing on 36 months
Accomplished: 6 (1 keynote, 3 talk, 1 workshop at mobihoc2023, 1 special session)
Readiness:96%

4.Project Meetings
Expected: > 12 meetings
Accomplished: 8 meetings
Readiness: 100%

5.Standardization contributions
Expected: 6
Accomplished: 1
Readiness: 40%


I. Shared tools: Number of blueprints developed for the setup of local testbeds
Expected: 2
Accomplished: 0
Readiness: 0% (but aligned with gantt)

II. Shared tools: Number of blueprints download
Expected: 20
Accomplished: 0
Readiness: 0% (but aligned with gantt)

III. Number of testbed extensions/demos/datasets integrated by other project programs
Expected: 10
Accomplished: 2
Readiness: 0% (but aligned with gantt)
Expected:
• M1 Preliminary normative review
• M2 Initial project release

Accomplished:
• M1 Preliminary normative review
• M2 Initial project release
Readiness level: 100%

Researchers involved: 50 person-month

Collaboration proposals:

  • Collaboration with other projects on defining the future of federated testbeds and strategies for improving experiment ‘portability’ and benchmarking.
  • Collaboration on inter-project demonstrations working on common experimental facilities: e.g. drone-based applications.
  • Collaboration with other projects on analysis of use cases promoting innovative interaction models between stakeholders (e.g. energy communities)
  • Collaboration with other projects and PEs interested in the application of strategic foresight methodologies (e.g. RESTART PE14 and MICS PE11)
  • Collaboration with other projects on innovative solutions for spectrum access and sensing.
  • Collaboration (internal and external to RESTART) on emerging concepts of neuro-rights

For any proposal of collaboration within the project please contact andrea.baiocchi at uniroma1.it

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