6G-PATH - Open Call #1

6G-PATH - Open Call #1

Type of grant: Cascade funding

Opening date: 23 September 2024

Deadline model: single-stage

Deadline date: 21 November 2024 17:00 (Brussels time)

Status: Forthcoming

Expected duration of participation: Track A: 20-months (8 months of integration and 12 months of support) Track B: 20-months (6 months of integration and 14 months of support)

Total funding available: €1,200,000.00

Project acronym: 6G-PATH

Full name of the EU funded project: 6G-PATH: 6G Pilots and Trials Through Europe

Grant agreement number: 101139172

Topic: HORIZON-JU-SNS-2023-STREAM-D-01-01 - SNS Large Scale Trials and Pilots (LST&Ps) with Verticals – Focused Topic

Submission & evaluation process

The 6G-PATH – Open call #1 is divided in two tracks:

> TRACK A - Infrastructure deployment: 6G-PATH funds two applications (additional third-party testbeds) that enable the development and integration of a B5G/6G network infrastructure made available for testing and validating services/ applications across the Health, Education, Smart Cities, and Farming verticals. The total budget per project may not exceed €300.000.

> TRACK B - Infrastructure software extensions: 6G-PATH funds 10 applications (third-party testbed extensions) that integrate advances in any of the seven testbed infrastructure services. The total budget per project may not exceed €60.000.

The call will fund projects developed by:

> TRACK A - Infrastructure deployment: any entity with the capacity to set up a B5G/6G network infrastructure and make these available for testing and validating new services/ applications.

> TRACK B - Infrastructure software extensions: any entity that has the capability to contribute to the development and implementation of cutting-edge innovation projects aligned with the objectives of the open call.

All entities must be based in the EU or Horizon Europe associated Member State and have a valid PIC number. Applicants can submit their applications as either an individual organisation/entity or as a consortium comprising a maximum of 2 entities. Consortia submissions must include at least one SME who integrate advances into the infrastructure services aligned with B5G and 6G standards and targets.

To be eligible, all applicants are required to carry out a feasibility assessment of their project. The purpose of the feasibility assessment ahead of submitting a full proposal is to verify if the project is aligned with the technical features available in the context of the open call. Applicants are advised to refer to Annex 1.2 - OC Technical specifications for the requirements.

Feasibility forms can be submitted until 6 November 2024. After this date, no further feasibility forms will be accepted.

Applicants are required to register at FS6 to be able to submit their proposals.

The remote external evaluation will be done by expert evaluators. The evaluation criteria are the following: (1) Technology Concept, (2) Impact & Innovation Potential, (3) Implementation, and (4) Team Skills & Experience.

Further information

Full details about the 6G-PATH - Open Call #1 can be found at: https://6gpath.eu/open-calls/

Task description

The objective of the 6G-PATH project is to help foster the further development and integration of new and improved tools and products from EU companies with 5G/6G. Seven testbeds will be part of the project consortium, which will be used by 10 use cases spread across four key verticals: Health, Education, Smart Cities and Farming.

The 6G-PATH – Open Call #1 focuses on infrastructure deployments that go beyond what the vertical use cases require and span across different network types and services, where verticals can run their use cases and leverage B5G/6G solutions and technologies.

With that in mind, these deployments will support pilots for the extended validation of experiments with an elevated TRL. Hence, the proposals submitted to the 6G-PATH – Open Call #1 are expected to be ambitious and innovative, showcasing the impact of the 6G-PATH project on industry transformation with a focus on scalability potential.

The projects awarded under Track A will start in January 2025 and have an implementation period of 20-months (8 months of integration and 12 months of support) divided into 3 phases:

1. Specification and design: 2 months
2. Implementation and Testing: 6 months
3. Support and evaluation 12 months

The projects awarded under Track B will start in January 2025 and have an implementation period of 20-months (6 months of integration and 14 months of support) divided into 3 phases:

1. Specification and design: 2 months
2. Implementation and testing: 4 months
3. Support and evaluation: 14 months