Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
The European Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU) aims to ensure industrial leadership for Europe in 5G and 6G.
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
The project will leverage existing SNS JU Stream C and D project results, as well as results from European National Initiatives, aggregating testbed sites that can offer combined capabilities across Europe.
The project should focus on integration, evaluation and validation beyond PoC of Stream B type of technologies for 6G KPIs and KVIs in a system context.
The project should not engage in activities of interconnecting or federation, as these issues have been addressed in previous projects. The core of the activities is to run experiments, with some activities to maintain and expand the tool offered to the community.
Detailed Call Description
The scope of this strand hence focuses on the following aspects:
• Accommodating a wide range of technologies towards 6G like RIS, ISAC/JCAS, NTN/5G, security, privacy, core evolution, AI, RAN evolution, network disaggregation, and any other relevant 6G subject as part of E2E setups for experimentation, see coverage of the 6 technological areas mentioned in the expected outcome, as example.
• Hosting advanced pilot “6G” use-cases not feasible during implementation lifecycle of ongoing Stream D projects due to the lack of maturity of the technology.
• Offering a well-defined catalogue of experimentation and KPI reporting tools that ensure repeatability, high level of automation, and comparison of results that provide valuable feedback to the developers and experimenters on potential shortcomings of the current prototype to facilitate technology maturation based on the experimental results.
• Offering users a low-barrier entry to an experimental facility enabling SNS-JU technologies, to run experiments.
• Providing trial facilities to enable hands on experience for engineer as part of their continuous learning and education.
• Integrating contributions from participants to expand the capabilities of the platforms with new features and capabilities.
• Ensuring security provisions for remote connectivity to the infrastructure for the experimenters.
• Providing plans on how to address the requirements for reusability and evolvability of the experimental platform over the lifetime of the SNS JU Programme.
The efforts are centralized around integration of technologies and execution of experimentation. Additional development will be strictly limited to maintenance and minimal integration effort of new technologies and prototypes, as the integration effort will be pushed on the experimenters. Platform upgrades and activities related to the integration of new technologies are also in scope as long as the running of experiments remains the core activity.
The platform will be open to any participant interested in running an experiment. There is no funding offered to the experimenters, who will propose to join according to their interest. The project will, however, include FSTP (Financial Support to Third Parties) to developers from current running SNS JU projects as a support to integrate their technologies into the platform. SNS projects in Phase 3 are expected to include integration and experimentation resources with the new infrastructure in their Grant Agreements. For SME and academia, the project will allocate up to 20% of the proposal budget on the FSTP mechanism in the form of up to 50 K€ grants to support the integration efforts of key technologies developed in previous SNS JU calls until Call 2025. Solutions from SNS JU Call 2027 projects are not eligible for FSTP and should include the effort to integrate into their project, as explained in the legal and financial set-up of the Grant Agreements.
Experimenters get full insight from the results to improve their solution. If an experimenter wishes so, they can also leave a version of the technology solution inside the platform for their own use or for reference/use of the SNS community. This is a way to showcase the experimenter technology, but also for them to run additional trials without needing to visit the platform (remote connectivity). Leaving the technology is an in-kind contribution on loan preferably for the remainder of the project transforming the platform to be a showroom for these 6G candidate technologies.
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
100% non-for-profit organizations,
90% profit organizations
Expected EU contribution: €1.000.000
Thematic Categories
- Economy-Finances
- Industry
- Information and Communication Technologies
- Information Technology
- Processing
- Public Administration
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
- Small-Medium Enterprises and Competitiveness
- Telecommunications
Eligibility for Participation
- Businesses
- Educational Institutions
- Large Enterprises
- Legal Entities
- Other Beneficiaries
- Private Bodies
- Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
- State-owned Enterprises
Eligibility For Participation Notes
General Annex B of the General Annexes to the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the SNS call 2026, with the following exceptions or amendments:
Restrictions for the protection of European communication networks
These restrictions apply in accordance with General Annex B of the General Annexes of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027:
Entities that are assessed as high-risk suppliers of mobile network communication equipment within the meaning of ‘restrictions for the protection of European communication networks’ ( (and any entities they own or control) are not eligible to participate as beneficiaries, affiliated entities and associated partners.
Legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or in non-government-controlled territories of Ukraine
Given the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the involvement of Belarus, there is currently no appropriate context allowing the implementation of the actions foreseen in this programme with legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or in non-government-controlled territories of Ukraine. Therefore, even where such entities are not subject to EU restrictive measures, such legal entities are not eligible to participate in any capacity. This includes participation as beneficiaries, affiliated entities, associated partners, third parties giving in-kind contributions, subcontractors or recipients of financial support to third parties (if any). Exceptions may be granted on a case-by-case basis for justified reasons. With specific regard to measures addressed to Russia, following the adoption of the Council Regulation (EU) 2024/1745 of 24 June 2024 (amending Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 of 31 July 2014), legal entities established outside Russia but whose proprietary rights are directly or indirectly owned for more than 50% by legal persons established in Russia are also not eligible to participate in any capacity.
At least half of the budget should be implemented by the SNS JU member (other than the Union) and their constituent or affiliated entities.Applicants will be invited to fill a mandatory table of compliance at proposal stage in the Application Form Technical Description (Part B).
Proposals that do not fulfil the above Table App 3 conditions, including the mandatory table of compliance, at the time of the proposal submission, will be considered ineligible and, therefore, will not be evaluated.
Gender equality plans and gender dimension of R&I:
According to the General Annexes, provision of a gender equality plan for public bodies, research organisations or higher education establishments (including private research organisations and higher education establishments) applies as per Part B of the General Annexes to the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027. Additional gender issues (related to award sub-criterion consideration of the gender dimension in research and innovation content) shall be addressed as appropriate in case research results are expected to differ when applied to different gender populations of users.