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.
- Construction of four scenarios for the long-term future of telecommunications with application of the Shell method: United States of Europe; City State 2.0; Distributed States of Europe and Digital Feudalism, with narrative description of the scenarios, identification of stakeholders and indicators that characterize the transition towards each scenario.
- Definition of use cases that highlight interactions between traditional and emerging stakeholders: smart homes and energy communities.
- Solutions for large-scale low-cost IoT networks and applications.
- Integration of software components for the creation of beyond-5G and LoRa testbeds.
- Review of the program projects and potential synergies/overlaps, with particular attention to sustainability aspects.
- Review of Italian, French, British and European regulations.
Slicing the Crystal Ball: Possible Futures for Telecommunication Networks in Italy, Giovanni Emanuele Corazza, Ilaria Rinaldi, Irene Coletto, Sara Mazzarella, Francesca Parasecolo, Andrea Baiocchi, Stefania Colonnese, Paola Panarese, Mert Yildiz, Cristina Costa, Giovanna De Minico, Fulvia Abbondante, Maria Francesca De Tullio, Maria Chiara Girardi, Stefania Parisi, Stefania Serafini, Ilenia Tinnirello, submitted to Elsevier Telecommunication Policy
Data-Driven Workload Generation Based on Google Data Center Measurements", M. Yildiz and A. Baiocchi: "Data-Driven Workload Generation Based on Google Data Center Measurements", accettato per la pubblicazione negagli atti della conferenza IEEE HPSR 2024
AI-GeneSI: Exploiting Generative AI for Autonomous Generation of the Southbound Interface in the IoT, Alfio Lombardo, Giacomo Morabito, Salvatore Quattropani, Carmelo Ricci, Marco Siino and Ilenia Tinnirello, 10th IEEE World Forum on Internet of Things (WF-IoT), Nov. 2024
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.
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.
- Application of Strategic Foresight methodologies to the telecommunications ecosystem, to build future scenarios to be used as 'stress-tests' for the development of infrastructures and technologies proposed by the project partners
- Development of traffic models for applications in smart-city scenarios able to correlate traffic with events (including extreme events) and evaluate the resilience of telecommunications infrastructures
- Development of tools to simplify the automation, configuration and analysis of the results of experimental testbeds, with integration of orchestrators and LLM models.
- Development of a mapping of European legislation on data protection before and after the GDPR, with study of the relationships between DG, DSA, DMA and AIA; development of innovative prototypes of contracts able to support ex-ante the protection of consumer rights and protect vulnerable users.
- Definition of a new methodology for the evaluation of XR/ER applications, able to integrate IoT devices; evolution of 'Quality of experience' concepts towards 'Quality of Life'
Program partners:
- Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna
- Università degli Studi di Catania
- Università degli Studi di Napoli "Federico II"
- Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza"
- Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per le Telecomunicazioni (CNIT)
- Open Fiber S.p.A.
- Wind Tre S.p.A.
- Prysmian S.p.A.
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.
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.
Publications
I. Shared tools: Number of blueprints developed for the setup of local testbeds, number of datasets
- Expected: at least 40 publications on 36 months
- Accomplished: 16 (2 contributions to a book, 5 journals, 2 position papers, 7 conference papers)
- Readiness: 62%
- Expected: 8 on 36 months
- Achieved: 3
- Readiness: 56%
- Expected: 15 talks or event chairing/organizing on 36 months
- Accomplished: 11 (1 keynote, 6 talk, 1 workshop at mobihoc2023, 1 special session, 1 thematic workshop on strategic foresight, 1 contribution to the technical camp)
- Readiness: 100%
- Expected: > 12 meetings
- Accomplished: 10 meetings
- Readiness: 100%
- Expected: 6
- Accomplished: 1
- Readiness: 25%
I. Shared tools: Number of blueprints developed for the setup of local testbeds, number of datasets
- Expected: 2
- Accomplished: 1
- Readiness: 50%
- Expected: 20
- Accomplished: 0
- Readiness: 0% (but aligned with gantt)
- Expected: 10
- Accomplished: 2
- Readiness: 0% (but aligned with gantt)
Expected:
- M1 Preliminary normative review
- M2 Initial project release
- M3 Intermediate project release
- M1 Preliminary normative review (deliverable D5.1)
- M2 Initial project release (deliverables D2.1, D2.2, D1.1, D3.1, D4.1)
- M3 Intermediate project release (deliverable D2.3, D2.4, D4.2, D4.3, D3.2, D5.2)
- 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
Net4Future News: