News & Events
Sustainability in 6G: Key Insights from the #1 6G-MUSICAL Webinar!
Last week, on January 13, 2025, the 6G-MUSICAL project successfully hosted its first sustainability-focused webinar. The event brought together experts, industry leaders, and researchers to explore how sustainability is being integrated into 6G technology development.
The session, moderated by Gianna Avgousti, R&D Project Manager at eBOS, was marked by thought-provoking discussions led by Dr Maria Matinmikko-Blue (University of OULU) and Prof. Atilio Gameiro (IT), the project’s Coordinator. The focus was on sustainable communication and sensing technologies within 6G, emphasizing the growing importance of environmental and societal factors in the next generation of mobile networks.
The session emphasized the importance of embedding sustainability as a core design principle, alongside security, resilience, connecting the unconnected, and ubiquitous intelligence, as outlined in global frameworks for 6G research.
Throughout the webinar, a diverse range of topics were addressed, including security concerns for data integrity and eavesdropping, certification standards for sustainable hardware, and the integration of renewable energy sources to reduce carbon emissions and lower operational costs.
Project Highlights:
- Funded under the SNS JU initiative, focusing on integrated communication and sensing.
- Duration: 36 months, 11 partners from the EU and beyond.
- Ambition to improve localisation accuracy by a factor of 30.
- Aims to tightly integrate communication and sensing into a single network for global deployment.
Key insights from the event included:
Defining Sustainability in 6G: Dr Marja Matinmikko-Blue provided an in-depth discussion on how sustainability has been globally recognized as a key driver for 6G research and development. Drawing from international recommendations, she highlighted the multifaceted nature of sustainability, encompassing environmental, social, and economic dimensions.
“Sustainability must serve as a visible design criterion in 6G development to ensure our actions today do not constrain future generations’ economic, social, and environmental options. We are now at a critical juncture in integrating sustainability thinking into the core of mobile communication advancements.”
A multi-perspective approach was proposed, integrating business, regulatory, and technological dimensions across environmental, social, and economic lenses. This framework will guide efforts to make 6G not only sustainable but also a tool to address broader sustainability challenges.
Security and Sustainability: While security remains a priority in ensuring reliable and secure 6G communication, sustainability challenges are also being addressed with a view to aligning future technologies with eco-friendly practices.
Sustainability as a Business Opportunity: Chiara Mazzone, from SNS-JU, underscored the need to view sustainability as a business opportunity, asking:
“How do we scale sustainability at the company and research levels, ensuring it is a priority across diverse regional perspectives while aligning with planetary boundaries?”
Mazzone further emphasized the necessity of defining concrete metrics and frameworks to link R&D activities with sustainability goals, particularly those aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
A Call for Collaborative Efforts: The discussion highlighted the ongoing need for collaboration among researchers, industry leaders, and policymakers to establish conceptual frameworks and actionable guidelines for sustainability in 6G. As the project progresses, 6G-MUSICAL aims to refine use cases and assess their market potential, leveraging insights from the Key Value Indicator (KVI) framework developed by the 6G-IA.
Interactive Q&A Session: Attendees engaged with the presenters, asking questions about practical applications and sustainability trade-offs in 6G.
Future Prospects: This webinar marks the first of many planned events by the 6G-MUSICAL project, dedicated to fostering dialogue on 6G innovation and sustainability. The discussion moved toward future webinars and events. The webinar concluded with an invitation to continue exploring how sustainability can be integrated into all layers of 6G technology development, from technical innovations to business and regulatory frameworks.
The 6G-MUSICAL project continues to prioritize sustainability, aiming to lead the way in the evolution of green and resilient mobile networks. In this first of many webinars, the project has fostered vital conversations about the intersection of cutting-edge technology and environmental stewardship.
Missed the event?
You can watch the full webinar recording and dive deeper into the key discussions here: https://6gmusical.eu/workshops-and-events/
Transcript summary: http://6gmusical.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1-6G-MUSICAL-Sustainability-Webinar-_Transcript-Summary.pdf
For further inquiries or to stay updated, contact us or visit our website: https://6gmusical.eu/