SNS JU publishes its Annual Work Programme and announces €128 million funding for 6G research and innovation in 2025.

The Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU) announced today the publication of its Annual Work Programme (AWP) 2025, which includes the Research and Innovation Work Programme for 2025 (SNS R&I WP 2025), allocating €128 million in EU funding to advance Europe’s leadership in Beyond 5G and 6G technologies and the future of connectivity.

As the Future Network Programme concludes, UKTIN is working with DSIT to reflect on the government-funded projects, outlining the key outcomes and the lessons learned to help improve future telecoms initiatives. 

Improving digital connectivity and supporting innovation is critical for the UK’s economy. Some of our country’s most profitable industries including tourism and farming are based in hard-to-reach areas, with rural England contributing 16.2% of the country's total gross value added (GVA) in 2022. 

Telefónica is the latest global operator to be targeted by bad actors after hackers breached its internal ticketing system.

BleepingComputer reports that Telefónica admitted its systems had been breached, with the operator “currently investigating the extent of the incident”.

Ericsson has unveiled its generative AI-powered NetCloud Assistant (ANA).

In a bid to simplify 5G network administration, ANA reads, interprets and generates new text and graphical content, rather than just providing links to existing resources, like traditional chatbots, the telecoms giant revealed.

ANA also is the first generative AI virtual expert specifically designed for enterprise Wireless WAN (WWAN) networks, powered by large language models (LLM).

The US government has awarded just over US$117 million in funding for the development of commercially viable Open RAN hardware.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced the funding award, which comes under the second phase of its Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund. As its name suggests, the scheme is geared towards financing the development of the Open RAN ecosystem.

T-Mobile US has agreed to buy out-of-home advertising specialist Vistar Media in a US$600 million deal in a bid to tap into non-telco revenue opportunities.

Essentially, this is a major telecoms operator having another crack at the advertising space despite the fact that many of its peers have failed before.

This time though, T-Mobile insists that the time is right to capitalise on the promise of the market – in this case, the digital-out-of-home (DOOH) space in particular – and put its wealth of customer data to good use.

The UK has announced it will fund 120 projects to test how AI might help out businesses, the day after it announced its wider AI Opportunities Action Plan.

Projects will receive a share of a £7 million funding pot – so were that to be split equally it would come out at £58,333 each. The intention is that these projects throw up some insights as to how AI could ‘turbocharge’ businesses in the UK.

The funding comes from the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Technology Missions Fund, and is delivered by the Innovate UK BridgeAI programme.

Vodafone Spain and MasOrange have officially signed a binding agreement to launch a new fibre network company in Spain.

Having signed a non-binding agreement to work together last July, the pair have committed to creating a joint fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network in what could become the largest FibreCo in Europe.

Italy is in advanced talks with Elon Musk’s SpaceX for a deal to provide secure telecommunications for the nation’s government — the largest such project in Europe, people with knowledge of the matter said Sunday.

Discussions are ongoing, and a final agreement on the five-year contract hasn’t been reached, said the people, who asked not to be identified citing confidential discussions. The project has already been approved by Italy’s Intelligence Services as well as Italy’s Defense Ministry, they said.

Technology laboratories, startups and research institutions at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, near Didcot, are set to benefit from enhanced wireless 5G connectivity.