Nokia to spearhead Germany’s 6G lighthouse project

Nokia has announced it will lead 6G-ANNA, a government-funded 6G lighthouse project in Germany.

Part of the larger “6G Platform German” national initiative, 6G-ANNA is backed by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung).

The project, which is worth up to €38.4 million, is geared towards advancing German and European 6G agendas and promoting global pre-standardization activities.

Over the course of three years, Nokia will collaborate and lead 6G research and standardization with 29 partners in the 6G-ANNA, including subject matter experts, start-ups, research institutes, and distinguished universities in Germany.

With Nokia leading the project, the consortium aims to design and enable an end-to-end 6G architecture encapsulating three key technology areas: 6G access, a network of networks, and automation & simplification.

Additionally, Nokia will contribute to Germany’s broader 6G ecosystem, including four academic 6G Hubs.

“Beyond Germany, 6G-ANNA aims to interact with other major 6G flagship projects in Europe and the U.S. to shape global 6G standards,” explained Nokia.

Head of Nokia Standards, Peter Merz, said: “We are honored to lead 6G-ANNA, the most important government-funded 6G lighthouse project in Germany.”

“While the first 6G networks are not expected to be commercially available before 2030, we are already laying the technical foundation with 5G-Advanced, as well as long-term innovation that will drive 6G developments.”