6G4Society convenes first External Advisory Board meeting to guide strategic vision and innovation in telecommunications

On September 12 2024, the 6G4Society project’s External Advisory Board had its first meeting, officially launching its activities and planning the next 18 months of work.

The External Advisory Board is a body comprising eight experts with a variety of backgrounds including wireless and telecommunications, academic research, European project management and regulatory aspects of telecommunications. Their role is to offer external counsel on the strategic direction of the project, as well as provide feedback on key project deliverables. The EAB therefore serves as an expert eye and external sounding board to ensure the project’s relevance and quality of output.

The meeting kicked off with an introduction to the 6G4Society project, which aims to ensure that the development of 6G technology aligns with sustainability and societal needs. Following this, each of the Advisory Board members introduced themselves, sharing their diverse backgrounds in areas such as AI, smart cities, and digital transformation. These introductions highlighted the wealth of expertise the board brings to the table, ensuring a multidisciplinary perspective in addressing the complex challenges 6G technology presents.

The project’s three main work packages (WP1, WP2, and WP3) were then outlined, focusing on understanding the impact of 6G on society, public engagement, and collaboration within the 6G-IA ecosystem respectively. Each work package explained what they aim to do as well as the results of the first months of activities. Regarding the achievements so far, WP1 mentioned the deliverable D1.1 (Societal aspects in 6G Technology: concerns, acceptance models and sustainability indicators) to be submitted in September as well as the Social Acceptance of Technology (SAT) model. WP2 highlighted the launch of the Citizen Survey as well as public engagement activities such as the youth engagement workshop hosted in Rome in May. Finally, WP3 shared that they had identified operational support and coordination needs for the projects and ecosystem, and synergies, gaps, and questions to inform early engagement activities and frameworks.

In the final discussion, the board emphasized the importance of clear communication about the benefits and challenges of 6G to the wider public. They also discussed the modalities for collaboration, including regular follow-ups and joint efforts with other Smart Networks and Services projects. The meeting concluded with a roadmap for the next steps, including an upcoming webinar with the Hexa-X II project and continued public engagement efforts.