On July 2, 2024, the CELTIC flagship project AI-NET marked a significant milestone in Europe’s journey toward secure and autonomous networking at the telco-edge, presenting its achievements at the 6G Platform Event in Berlin, Germany. Hosted at the Berlin Congress Center, the 6G Platform event gathered prominent leaders from research, industry, and government to discuss the future of communications technology in the 6G era. The afternoon session was dedicated to AI-NET’s Closing Event, where high-level representatives and project leaders highlighted AI-NET’s impact on the European digital landscape and the advancements it has fostered for telco-edge automation.

Opening and moderating the Closing Event, Mr. David Kennedy, CELTIC Chairman from Eurescom, Germany, set the tone by emphasizing AI-NET’s pivotal role in future 6G development. Ms. Heike Prasse, Head of Kommunikation und Sicherheit digitaler Systeme at Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), welcomed attendees by stressing the importance of network automation within the evolving 6G ecosystem, noting that AI-NET positions Europe as a leader in this field. Representing the UK, Mr. Tom Kirkham, Innovation Lead for Future Network Technologies at Innovate UK, praised the role AI-NET has played in advancing UK companies and research institutes that joined under the AI-NET ANIARA subproject in 2019, citing its early contributions to edge automation as a cornerstone for the future. From Finland, Mr. Heikki Uusi-Honko, Chief Advisor for Development and International Activities at Business Finland, celebrated the substantial impact Finnish partners have made through their involvement in the AI-NET subproject ANTILLAS. This introductory session was followed by the presentation of success stories from each of the three AI-NET subprojects: AI-NET-PROTECT, AI-NET-ANTILLAS, and AI-NET-ANIARA, highlighting AI-NET’s overall influence in enhancing Europe’s competitive advantage in networking technology.

Mr. Peter Elbers, CELTIC Core Group Member and Vice President of Advanced Technology at ADTRAN, Germany, underlined the critical role of resilient infrastructure in countering future threats, expressing pride in the AI-NET PROTECT team’s achievement of surpassing Key Performance Indicators. Mr. Volker Ziegler, Senior Technology Advisor at Nokia, followed with insights into how these advancements are integral to Nokia’s broader strategy. Mr. Paolo Monti elaborated on the competitive edge that AI-NET ANIARA has given its participants, while Mr. Achim Authenrieth, Director of Advanced Technologies at ADTRAN, Germany, highlighted the cooperative success of the flagship project and its subprojects.

The Closing Event concluded with “Spotlight Talks” and an engaging panel discussion led by Mr. David Kennedy, CELTIC-NEXT Chairperson. The panel, featuring prominent voices such as Mr. Petri Jehkonen, Director of Strategic Programs at Xiphera, Finland; Mr. Peer Wichmann, Chief Information Security Officer at Wibu-Systems, Germany; and Mr. Piotr Pawłowski, Vice President and CTO of MedVc, Poland, provided attendees with forward-looking perspectives on AI-driven network automation and security at the telco-edge cloud.

AI-NET’s Closing Event highlighted the strides Europe has taken toward secure, autonomous 6G network technologies, solidifying the foundation for future innovations in secure telco-edge cloud architecture.

Ms. Heike Prasse from Germany Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

Panel discussion on AI-driven Network Automation and Security

AI-NET closure event attendees

CELTIC-NEXT website – https://www.celticnext.eu/

AI-NET project website: https://www.celticnext.eu/project-ai-net/