It’s Monday morning, and this orange booth at MWC 24 is already packed with people waiting for the first session of the day. The topic that will kick off the Dutch pavilion? Like several exhibitors in Barcelona this year, it’s started with 6G.
“This smart technology will create a smart society – autonomous vehicles, automated industrial, new applications,” said Paul Wijngaard, Alliance Director at Future Network Services (FNS), Netherlands’ 6G initiative.
It’s been a recent journey so far – the project officially started in October 2023. However, researchers have been shaping the consortium for at least two years now.
Although young, FNS was born with the promise of long-term investments. The Dutch government has committed € 203 million in conditional budget to the initiative – € 61 million of which is already available for researchers.
The program will focus on four pillars:
- Intelligent components
- Intelligent networks
- Leading applications
- Strengthen ecosystem
According to Wijngaard, one of the FNS’s ambitions is building a strategic knowledge position for the Netherlands, as well as for Europe, in development and 6G applications.
“On the one hand, of course, we want to create new KPIs,” Wijngaard explained when asked why Dutch companies would invest in 6G research. “But there’s also the technology innovation, new applications, new components, and new products. This has value,” he concluded.
