ETSI 6G Monday Highlights Europe’s Strategic Push Towards 6G

In April this year, ETSI hosted its one-day ETSI 6G Monday conference at its headquarters in Sophia Antipolis, France. This focused and engaging event brought together leading figures from the European 6G community to reflect on the current status of 6G research, the early standardisation journey, and how EU-funded initiatives are feeding directly into international standards work. The conference served as an ideal curtain-raiser for the 6G FORGE event held immediately afterwards.

With participation from around 95 attendees, the event explored how Europe is positioning itself to lead the global race to 6G. It showcased how significant research efforts across the region are already shaping future standards, particularly through the work of the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU). Senior representatives from the European Commission, 6G-IA, Networld Europe and ETSI discussed the strategic direction, research priorities and coordination efforts needed to translate innovation into global influence.

The agenda gave particular emphasis to the role of key SNS JU projects in the standardisation process. For example, 6G-SANDBOX provided insights into how its research and open source contributions are helping accelerate specifications through ETSI and 3GPP. Similarly, Hexa-X-II highlighted its continuing support for the evolution of 6G within the 3GPP structure, and FIDAL shared details of its work with the SA1 working group and input into the 3GPP technical report on service requirements.

One of the central themes across the day was the link between research and standardisation. As 3GPP progresses with Release 20 and begins shaping its vision for 6G, collaboration between academia, industry, and standards bodies becomes more vital. ETSI is facilitating this by integrating project results into its technical groups and by launching new structures such as Software Development Groups to reflect the growing importance of software in future networks.

ETSI 6G Monday also served as a timely reminder that standardisation is not only a technical process. It is increasingly a strategic activity that supports competitiveness, avoids fragmentation, and ensures interoperability. The European focus on 6G is not just about developing the next generation of connectivity but also about securing long-term leadership in digital infrastructure.

As part of its mission to guide the development of future mobile systems, ETSI provided a platform for innovators, SMEs, academics and policymakers to contribute ideas and engage in open dialogue about what 6G could and should become. With global timelines beginning to crystallise and industry discussions moving quickly, Europe’s clear strategy and coordination efforts will play a critical role in shaping what comes next.

Well known industry analyst Dean Bubley created an X post thread from his visit there. Click on the embedded post below and then you can follow his thread on X.

You can check the agenda out here and download the presentations from here.

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