6G Telco Cloud and Service Provision Enablers

The HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01 grant opportunity is part of the Horizon Europe program, focusing on advancing 6G Telco Cloud and service provision infrastructure. The initiative targets universities, research institutes, small and medium-sized enterprises, large enterprises, and public-private partnerships, emphasizing collaboration among different sectors including industry and academia. The funding type is a grant, specifically designed under the HORIZON JU Research and Innovation Actions. A consortium is required for application submission as the program aims for multi-partner collaborations on large-scale projects. Eligible applicants must be legal entities based in EU member states, Associated Countries, OECD, and Mercosur nations, with specific restrictions on entities from Russia, Belarus, or non-government-controlled areas of Ukraine. The scope of the grant encompasses various sectors such as information and communication technology, telecommunications, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and specifically 6G telecommunication technologies. Projects must reach Technology Readiness Level 5 by completion, focusing on the development and experimental validation of solutions. The total budget for this funding opportunity is approximately €104 million, with individual project funding estimated between €1 million and €5 million for selected streams, targeting high impact on standardization, open-source contributions, and market applications. The application process is a single-stage open call, with a submission deadline of September 18, 2025. Successful applicants will receive monetary support to cover research and development costs, and only one evaluation phase is involved in the application process. While specific success rates are not provided, Horizon Europe projects traditionally have a competitive application process, and co-funding may be required especially from private sector entities participating in the consortia. The program underlines the importance of sustainability, digital trust, and open-source solutions, aiming to bolster Europe’s technological sovereignty and foster innovation in next-generation networks. Overall, this funding call aims to consolidate Europe’s leadership in 6G technology, with particular emphasis on collaborative research initiatives that will ultimately enhance the region's digital infrastructure and capabilities.

This is a Horizon Europe call, specifically HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01, focusing on 6G Telco Cloud and Service Provision Enablers. It falls under the HORIZON JU Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) funding scheme, with a single-stage submission process. The call opened on May 22, 2025, and has a deadline of September 18, 2025, at 17:00 Brussels time.

The primary goal is to create an evolvable 6G telco cloud and service provision experimental infrastructure for the SNS (Smart Networks and Services) program. This infrastructure should enable the development of multi-provider, multi-technology systems capable of hosting and managing network functions, incorporating key 6G features such as deterministic networking. It also aims to validate and demonstrate 6G telco cloud and architecture, utilizing open-source principles for potential use in European commercial networks.

The scope includes building an open, disaggregated, versatile, and unified end-to-end platform that supports the dynamic provision and management of OTT (Over-The-Top) and other services across interconnected 6G sites in multiple European countries. This platform should adhere to open architectures at the cloud implementation level, ensuring high performance, flexibility, and functionality.

Innovative research areas encompass radio development for advanced networks, including Radio Access Network (RAN) architectures, network orchestration models, Massive MIMO, ultra-high-bandwidth, low-latency wireless communications, and tightly coupled edge computing.

The proposed solutions should leverage existing or new open-source efforts like GSMA (Open Gateway), TIP (OpenRAN), Sylva, Anuket, Open Nebula, CAMARA, ETSI hosted, Nephio, CNCF, and LFN. The project should also enhance network exposure, secure service distribution, and digital trust, and provide solutions for an AI-driven service marketplace.

Participation is restricted to legal entities established in Member States, Associated Countries, OECD, and Mercosur countries. Entities controlled by non-eligible countries may participate if they can demonstrate that their involvement will not negatively impact the Union's strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security. Entities assessed as high-risk suppliers of mobile network communication equipment are not eligible. Legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or non-government-controlled territories of Ukraine are also ineligible.

At least half of the project budget must be implemented by SNS JU members (other than the Union) and their constituent or affiliated entities. Applicants must complete a mandatory compliance table in the Application Form Technical Description (Part B).

The proposal page limit for RIAs submitted under Stream B and C is 70 pages.

The call includes several specific topics with varying budgets and indicative numbers of grants:

HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-01-01:€15,000,000, approximately 5 grants

HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-01-02:€9,000,000, approximately 3 grants

HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-02:€21,000,000, approximately 3 grants

HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-03-01:€8,000,000, 1 grant

HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-03-02:€8,000,000, 1 grant

HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-04-01:€8,000,000, 1 grant

HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-04-02:€8,000,000, 1 grant

HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-05:€12,000,000, 1 grant

HORIZON-JU:€15,000,000, 1 grant

This funding opportunity aims to foster the development and validation of key technologies and infrastructures necessary for the deployment of 6G networks in Europe. It emphasizes open-source solutions, European participation, and alignment with EU strategic interests and sustainability goals. The projects are expected to contribute to standardization efforts, create commercially viable solutions, and support various societal objectives, including energy efficiency, social inclusivity, and security. The call encourages collaboration and synergy with other European initiatives and projects to maximize the impact and uptake of the developed technologies.

Eligible Applicant Types:The eligible applicant types are legal entities established in Member States, Associated Countries, OECD and Mercosur countries. However, entities directly or indirectly controlled by a non-eligible country or entity may be restricted unless they can demonstrate their participation would not negatively impact the Union’s strategic interests. Entities assessed as high-risk suppliers of mobile network communication equipment are not eligible. Legal entities established in Russia, Belarus, or in non-government-controlled territories of Ukraine are also generally ineligible, with possible case-by-case exceptions for justified reasons. The call also targets SMEs and IKOPs.

Funding Type:The funding type is a grant, specifically HORIZON JU Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-JU-RIA) under the Horizon Europe Programme.

Consortium Requirement:The opportunity appears to require a consortium, as it emphasizes multi-provider and multi-technology systems, integration of value chains, and cooperation among participants. The text mentions participants will be requested to cooperate in the SNS Programme for topics of common interests by signing a written agreement.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):The geographic eligibility for applicants includes legal entities established in Member States, Associated Countries, OECD and Mercosur countries. Restrictions apply to entities controlled by non-eligible countries and those established in Russia, Belarus, or non-government-controlled territories of Ukraine.

Target Sector:The target sector is ICT, specifically focusing on 6G telecommunications technology, cloud computing, AI, security, IoT, and related open-source technologies. It also touches on areas like energy, sustainability, and digital trust.

Mentioned Countries:The opportunity mentions Member States, Associated Countries, OECD countries, and Mercosur countries as eligible. Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine (specifically non-government-controlled territories) are mentioned as generally ineligible.

Project Stage:The expected maturity of the project is at the demonstration and operational validation stage, with an emphasis on integrating and extending existing technologies and validating 6G KPIs. The projects should aim to develop and demonstrate solutions with a high potential for uptake by European commercial and operational networks.

Funding Amount:The funding amounts vary by topic, ranging from €8,000,000 to €21,000,000. The contributions and indicative number of grants for each topic are as follows:

HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-01-01:€15,000,000, around €3,000,000 per grant, 5 grants

HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-01-02:€9,000,000, around €3,000,000 per grant, 3 grants

HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-02:€21,000,000, around €7,000,000 per grant, 3 grants

HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-03-01:€8,000,000, around €8,000,000 per grant, 1 grant

HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-03-02:€8,000,000, around €8,000,000 per grant, 1 grant

HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-04-01:€8,000,000, around €8,000,000 per grant, 1 grant

HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-04-02:€8,000,000, around €8,000,000 per grant, 1 grant

HORIZON-JU-SNS-2025-01-STREAM-B-05:€12,000,000, around €12,000,000 per grant, 1 grant

HORIZON-JU:€15,000,000, around €15,000,000 per grant, 1 grant

Application Type:The application type is an open call, with a single-stage submission process. A call-specific application form will be used and available in the Submission System.

Nature of Support:The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant to support research and innovation activities.

Application Stages:The application process consists of a single stage.

Success Rates:The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants for each topic provides some insight into the potential competition level.

Co-funding Requirement:At least half of the budget should be implemented by the SNS JU member (other than the Union) and their constituent or affiliated entities.

Summary:This is a Horizon Europe call under the SNS (Smart Networks and Services) Joint Undertaking, aimed at fostering research and innovation in 6G telecommunications technologies. The primary goal is to develop and validate an evolvable 6G telco cloud and service provision experimental infrastructure. The call targets a wide range of stakeholders, including SMEs and larger European players, with a focus on projects that demonstrate a strong impact on standardization, open-source contributions, and monetization potential. Eligible applicants must be legal entities from EU Member States, Associated Countries, OECD, and Mercosur countries, with certain restrictions applying to entities controlled by non-eligible countries or those established in Russia, Belarus, or non-government-controlled territories of Ukraine. The call supports Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs) with funding ranging from €8 million to €21 million per project, and the application process involves a single stage with a deadline of September 18, 2025. Projects should focus on integrating and extending existing technologies, validating 6G KPIs, and ensuring the infrastructure is open and reusable for future SNS phases. A significant portion of the budget must be implemented by SNS JU members, and projects are expected to contribute to key societal objectives such as energy reduction, sustainability, and digital trust. The call emphasizes the importance of gender equality plans and addressing gender dimensions in research content.