uc3m Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M)

University Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M) was founded in 1989 with the objective of providing an efficient, high quality public undergraduate and graduate education. In its two decades of existence, it has established itself among the best universities in Spain – in 2012, UC3M was included in the QS ranking of the top 50 universities world-wide under 50. The Telematics Department of UC3M is involved in education and research on broadband networks, mobile networks, advanced Internet networking and applications, and has recently been ranked as the best Department in its area in Spain by the main national ranking. Its staff has participated and coordinated projects of several European R&D programs, e.g., ICT Carmen, ICT Trilogy, IST Daidalos, ICT Medieval, ICT iJOIN, ICT CROWD and Spanish R&D programs, and also in contracts with the industry and public administrations.

 

NEC NEC Europe LTD (NEC)

NEC Corporation produces tailored solutions for the core technologies and services required in a networked world, ranging from advanced semiconductor solutions, to large-scale mission-critical systems, systems integration, and broadband and mobile technologies. The NEC group employs more than 150,000 people with a multi-billion dollar sales volume worldwide. NEC began business in Europe in the early 1970s. Today, NEC has 19 affiliated companies with over 5000 employees in Europe alone. NEC Europe Ltd., wholly owned by NEC Corporation, was established in London in 1993. The NEC Laboratories Europe (NLE) in Heidelberg, Germany, has been established in 1997. A special emphasis lies on solutions that meet the needs of NEC’s European customers, focusing on R&D for the next generation mobile and fixed networks, and the Future Internet. A strong focus is also placed on contributions to relevant standardisation fora, e.g., NGMN, 3GPP, ETSI TISPAN, and IETF. NLE has already successfully participated and is participating in many EU projects, e.g., Ambient Networks, MobiLife, SPICE and MAGNET Beyond, ANA, 4WARD, CARMEN, Trilogy, NAPAWINE, FLAVIA, ResumeNet, and iJOIN. NEC Laboratories Europe also actively contributes to the standardisation of mobile operator’s radio access, backhaul and core networks within 3GPP, ETSI, BBF and IETF.

ericsson Ericsson AB (EAB)

Ericsson AB is a company in the Ericsson Group (Ericsson). Ericsson is a world leader in communications technology and services and a driving force behind the Networked Society. Ericsson long-term relationships with every major telecom operator in the world allow people, businesses and societies to fulfil their potential and create a more sustainable future. Ericsson services, software and infrastructure – especially in mobility, broadband and the cloud – are enabling the telecom industry and other sectors to do better business, increase efficiency, improve the user experience and capture new opportunities. With more than 110,000 professionals and customers in 180 countries, Ericsson combines global scale with technology and services leadership. Ericsson supports networks that connect more than 2.5 billion subscribers. Forty percent of the world’s mobile traffic is carried over Ericsson networks. And its investments in research and development ensure that Ericsson solutions – and customers – stay in front. Founded in 1876, Ericsson has its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. Net sales in 2013 were SEK 227.4 billion (USD 34.9 billion). Ericsson is listed on NASDAQ OMX stock exchange in Stockholm and the NASDAQ in New York.

The organization within Ericsson which will be engaged in the project, called Ericsson Research, provides Ericsson with system concepts, technology and methodology, to secure long-term competitive product provisioning. World-class innovation is achieved through cooperation within Ericsson and with partners, customers, universities and research institutes. The groups from EAB participating in Xhaul cover research in the areas of access technologies and signal processing, radio network and transport network, especially in the area of small cell transport and optical transport. Ericsson AB is host of the core of Ericsson Research.

ericsson Ericsson Telecomunicazioni (TEI)

Ericsson Telecomunicazioni SpA (TEI) is a company in the Ericsson Group (Ericsson). Ericsson is a world leader in communications technology and services and a driving force behind the Networked Society. Ericsson long-term relationships with every major telecom operator in the world allow people, businesses and societies to fulfil their potential and create a more sustainable future. Ericsson services, software and infrastructure – especially in mobility, broadband and the cloud – are enabling the telecom industry and other sectors to do better business, increase efficiency, improve the user experience and capture new opportunities. With more than 110,000 professionals and customers in 180 countries, Ericsson combines global scale with technology and services leadership. Ericsson supports networks that connect more than 2.5 billion subscribers. Forty percent of the world’s mobile traffic is carried over Ericsson networks. And its investments in research and development ensure that Ericsson solutions – and customers – stay in front. Founded in 1876, Ericsson has its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. Net sales in 2013 were SEK 227.4 billion (USD 34.9 billion). Ericsson is listed on NASDAQ OMX stock exchange in Stockholm and the NASDAQ in New York.

The organization within Ericsson which will be engaged in the project, called Ericsson Research, provides Ericsson with system concepts, technology and methodology, to secure long-term competitive product provisioning. World-class innovation is achieved through cooperation within Ericsson and with partners, customers, universities and research institutes.

Ericsson Telecomunicazioni SpA hosts in Pisa focus on optical technologies, systems and networks. The research team in Pisa, which will directly contribute to the project, has a proven experience in optical system and technologies. In the last seven years, the group has demonstrated an extensive set of cutting edge technologies and solutions in lab demonstrations, prototypes, and in field trials. Among the several demonstrations: colourless WDM-PON, unified control plane for packet optical networks, optical burst switching, open access enabling optical systems, digital ROADM, integrated photonics ROADM, CPRI over WDM, end-to-end service provisioning in IP over optical networks, 1 Tbit/s transmission over a distance of about 1000 km between two optical end nodes located in Australia, in presence of add drop nodes designed for 100 Gbit/s transmission.

ATOS ATOS Spain S.A. (ATOS)

Atos is an international information technology services company, delivering hi-tech transactional services, consulting, systems integration and managed services. Atos is focused on business technology that powers progress and helps organisations to create their firm of the future. It is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic Games and is quoted on the Paris Eurolist Market. The company’s annual revenues are more than EUR 8.7 billion and it employs over 78,500 business technologists worldwide in 42 countries. Atos was established on July 1st 2011, following the successful integration of Atos Origin and Siemens IT Solutions and Services.

Atos has proven expertise and capabilities across telecommunications core and support processes. With more than 9,000 professionals in Telecommunications, Media and Technology, we provide services to over 220 clients in Telecom sector.

Media Lab, within the Atos Research & Innovation (ARI) Department, brings its expertise in the media distribution and CDN vendor’s technology and infrastructures. The group technical expertise has been developed in R&D projects such as OLYMPIC, iSCORE, LIVE My eDirector 2012, SMART, SARACEN, BUSCAMEDIA, EXPERIMEDIA among many others. The Media Unit created the technical infrastructure for the broadcasting of Vancouver Winter Olympic Games 2010 for Spain (in partnership with the main Spanish public TV, RTVE), the world broadcasting of the London Paralympics Games 2012 for the International Paralympics Committee, the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games for 95 countries and the worldwide distribution of the 2nd Youth Olympic Games Nanjing 2014. Media Lab support and collaborate with Atos media units such as Atos’ BBC team in charge of the content delivery of the iPlayer.

Atos Research & Innovation (ARI), R&D node of Atos is a point of world reference in innovation for the whole Atos group. Atos participates in R&D projects in national or international consortia that enrich Atos’ technological portfolio. Our background of more than 25 years participating in EC projects helps us reinforce our links with our customers by bringing research outcomes to Atos’ customers and empowering our role as source of innovative ideas.

NOKIA Nokia Solutions and Networks GMBH & CO KG (NOK-N)

Nokia Networks invests in important technologies in a world where billions of devices are connected. We are focused on three businesses: 1) network infrastructure software, hardware and services, offered through Nokia Networks; 2) location intelligence, provided through HERE; and 3) advanced technology development and licensing, pursued through Nokia Technologies. Each of these businesses is a leader in its respective field.

Nokia Networks is the world’s specialist in mobile broadband. From the first ever call on GSM, to the first call on LTE, we operate at the forefront of each generation of mobile technology. Our global experts invent the new capabilities our customers need in their networks. We provide the world’s most efficient mobile networks, the intelligence to maximize the value of those networks, and the services to make it all work seamlessly.

Nokia Networks is implementing a hands-on innovation approach to enable mobile broadband networks to profitably deliver 1 gigabyte of personalized data per user per day by 2020. With our Technology Vision 2020 for future mobile networks, we are helping operators deal with extreme traffic growth, simplify network operations and provide the ultimate personal gigabyte experience.

The industry not only faces a massive increase in data demand, it also needs to boost profitability and personalized experience at the same time. To meet this challenge, we are implementing the following six pillars of our Technology Vision 2020, which have been defined in cooperation with operators globally:
Support up to 1000 times more capacity.

  • Teach networks to be self-aware.
  • Reduce latency to milliseconds.
  • Reinvent Telcos for the cloud.
  • Flatten total energy consumption.
  • Personalize network experience.

IDCC InterDigital Europe LTD (IDCC)

InterDigital Communications was founded in 1972 with the goal of contributing to wireless technology development. The Company has been a leading contributor to the development of 4G/3G/2G/1G wireless systems, and accordingly has established licenses and partnerships with many of the world’s leading wireless companies. Today, InterDigital is a top wireless R&D contributor with offices in Europe (the UK), the USA, and Canada. InterDigital Europe, which was launched in 2013, is working with companies, cities, universities and other entities to foster discussion, break barriers, execute research and help set the stage for European leadership in new technologies, in particular for 5G and IoT/M2M.

TID Telefónica Investigación y Desarrollo S.A. (TID)

Telefónica Investigación y Desarrollo is the innovation company of the Telefónica Group. Owned 100% by Telefónica, this subsidiary was formed in 1988, with the aim of strengthening the Group’s competitiveness through technological innovation. TID employs over 600 persons, of whom 93% hold a University degree. Telefónica’s innovation process, which is largely based on the activities of TID, is based on four fundamental lines of work: infrastructures, development of new services, deployment of the so-called “personal digital environment” and a series of common elements. All the activities in TID are carried out conforming to an in-house Project Development and Management Methodology, which has been awarded an ISO 9001 Certification since 1994, updated to the new ISO 9001:2000 in 2001.

TI Telecom Italia S.p.A. (TI)

With 31.2 million mobile lines and 13.2 million connections to its fixed network, of which more than 6.9 million are broadband accesses, Telecom Italia is Italy’s main ICT group. Abroad its main strength is Brazil, where TIM Brasil, supplying 73.4 million lines, is a major player on the market. As it has done throughout its industrial history, the Group is focusing its strategy on innovation, and over the next three years the group will be investing 3.4 billion euros on the development of new generation technologies. The goal is to reach 50% of the Italian population with the new generation fixed ultrabroadband (Fibre, NGN) and 80% with the mobile network (4G, LTE) by the end of 2016. The company’s range of offers – focusing on advanced and integrated solutions for consumers, businesses and institutions – includes: landline and mobile telecommunications, internet, digital content, cloud computing, office and system solutions. The offers are formulated by Telecom Italia, TIM and Olivetti, reliable and well-known brands, through which the Group maintains close links with its customers. Advanced and customizable solutions are dedicated to a diversified business environment: phone plans converging mobile and landline prices, high speed connectivity, an advanced platform for cloud computing for the virtualization of applications and infrastructures and, finally, a vast selection of applications for storing and managing data or controlling energy consumption.

Orange Orange S.A. (ORANGE)

Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with annual sales of 43.5 billion euros and present in 32 countries. Orange is one of the main European operators for mobile and broadband Internet services and, under the brand Orange Business Services, is one of the world leaders in providing telecommunications services to multinational companies.

Research and innovation is a strategic priority for the Group as it is the key that unlocks our future growth and a powerful differentiator with our competitors. Within the worldwide network, the Orange Labs carry out the Group’s research, technical design and deployment activities. In constant interaction with the industrial and academic worlds, the Orange Labs:

  • carry out research projects with two goals: to help the Group identify and prepare for the next breakthrough technologies, and to invent new uses and services concepts;
  • lead the Group’s networks strategy and coordinates the Group’s standardization strategy, by looking ahead to the next breakthrough technologies, assessing the impact of new products and services, and preparing for changes in network operating models;
  • have overall responsibility for the technology used in the Group’s products and services. They are involved throughout the entire development process, from the design of innovative services to the maintenance of systems already installed in each country where the Group operates.

Orange Labs is working on C-RAN and fronthaul since a few years now, with a good expertise on fronthaul transport solutions, contributions at FSAN level and presentations in many international conferences.

 Visiona IP (VISIONA)

 

Visiona Ingeniería de Proyectos is a cutting edge Information Technology company. It has a solid experience on designing, developing and deploying systems and projects on the client side, working together and for them. Visiona works with all the value chain of audiovisual technologies, from production and post- production systems, coding, transmission, etc., to those designed for the final user, and data transmission and process for transport networks. Visiona was created in 2006 as a spin-off, and grown every year to become a highly innovative SME in Europe.

Visiona has also experience in the domain of mobile broadcasting, having as customers a good number of companies in the mobile and broadcasting sector. Visiona was one of the pioneers in the technological developments for hybrid UMTS and DVB-H capable devices in 2007 for personalized streaming and handheld broadcasting. In the field of broadcasting signal transport and delivery, Visiona is currently working with some operators and manufacturers in pilots to showcase video broadcasting and delivery (6 programmes, adaptive rate) to smartphones and phablets using the capabilities of the current LTE networks. In addition, Visiona has experience in video processing, where has developed solutions based on their own measurement of video quality for mobile operators such as Movistar, and on the other hand computer real time vision algorithms which are used by several administrations for security.

Visiona’s experience in the ICT field, especially in audiovisual technologies, transport system and security, can help its clients to visualize clearly the technological sections to externalize and if they consider Visiona can hold for they the non-fundamental areas on these technology fields.

eblink EBlink (EBlink)

EBlink is revolutionizing the mobile network market with a new standard for the mobile industry: Wireless Fronthaul. This innovative technology provides operators with an immediate solution to the demands of mobile multimedia applications, and the increasingly high-speed service they require. Thanks to its spectral efficiency, EBlink’s patented Wireless Fronthaul solution represents a major technological advance. It can be interfaced with fibre, while guaranteeing the same performance levels.

EBlink’s system reflects the evolution toward increasingly centralized telecom architectures, and enables faster and easier deployment of 3G, 4G and future 5G networks. Wireless Fronthaul technology is recognized as a cost-effective and flexible solution for macro and small cell sites, to ensure needed coverage and high-speed service. Industry analysts and major international operators now view Wireless Fronthaul as a technology that has become essential.

EBlink was created in 2005 to advance its founder’s driving vision for the evolution of mobile networks. The company is headquartered just outside of Paris, France, with a subsidiary in California’s Silicon Valley.

EBlink left the consortium on date 1st of April 2017

nextworks Nextworks (NXW)

Nextworks is a dynamic R&D SME that was created in 2002 as a spin-off company of the Computer Science and Telecommunications Division of the Consorzio Pisa Ricerche (CPR–DITEL). Nextworks operates in the TLC sectors, collaborating with some of the major manufacturers and operators (e.g., Marconi, Alcatel- Lucent, Nokia-Siemens Networks, Ericsson, Juniper, Interoute, Wind, Telecom Italia). The company’s team boasts long-term experience and proved skills in the frameworks of Control Plane technologies for wired and wireless transport networks, design and development of complex control software on both traditional and embedded platforms and in Quality of Service (QoS) in packet networks, IP telephony, digital video encoding and streaming.

The R&D team in Nextworks has a solid background on design, development and integration of full networking protocol stacks, ranging from the industrial (carrier-grade) to the pure R&D application area. Also the company has a product line and expertise in integrated control and energy management with multiple sensors/actuators (network and non-network) for IoT/IoE application scenarios (e.g., Building Management and Automation Systems).

corenetworks Core Network Dynamics (CND)

CND is a young SME, as a spin-off of Fraunhofer FOKUS. Its activities are centred on the hardening of the OpenEPC project beyond the R&D scopes that was started and successfully executed between 2008 and 2013. With 50+ customers to date, OpenEPC represents a reference in testbeds for trialling 4G technologies, including also comprehensive 2G, 3G, WiFi and applications.

telnet TELNET Redes Inteligentes (TELNET)

Founded in 1994, Telnet Redes Inteligentes S. A. (TELNET) is the Spanish leading provider of technology and services to Telecom operators. The company ́s portfolio comprises mobile and fixed network infrastructure and broadband solutions, as well as BTS antenna systems and fibre optical cables and passive components. TELNET is the mother company of Telnet Group in Spain, and the headquarters are located in Zaragoza (Spain). TELNET is always committed to R&D and Innovation, and entered the broadband equipment market in 1996 hand in hand of Telefónica R&D. Nowadays, TELNET comprises a large number of products in the field of mobile networks and BTS antenna systems (including 3G repeaters, BBU-RRH multiplexers, UMTS microcells…), high-speed optical fibre Access and FTTH Networks (including GPON/WDM-PON ONU/OLT equipment), Metro Ethernet, TDM, GbE, 10G, SDH, xWDM, etc.. Operating in Latin America, North Africa, Middle East, Asia and Europe, TELNET accounts with more than 200 employees, and generated revenue of €25M in 2013.

TELNET is currently doing significant research in the area of WDM-PON and NG-PON2 for the development of +40G next generation PON solutions. TELNET has also recently developed end-to-end LTE Small Cell ecosystem with proprietary LTE protocol stack and LTE HeNB equipment and is currently broadening its LTE product portfolio by developing novel LTE picocell equipment for Operators. In the context of the HFCC/G.fast CELTIC project, TELNET has also developed novel broadband (Gbps) equipment prototypes for the new generation of hybrid fibre-copper access network infrastructure that is being standardized by ITU under the name of G.fast (ITU-T G.9701), also in the context of the HFCC/G.fast project (http://www.4gbb.eu/). TELNET is interested in novel architectures enabling the integration of heterogeneous technologies for the fronthaul and backhaul links into a single SDN controlled IP-based network. TELNET has participated and coordinated projects of several European R&D programs, e.g., FP7- ICT COMBO, FP7-ICT PHASTFlex, CELTIC HFCC/G.fast and Spanish R&D programs and contracts with the industry and public administrations.

FhG-HHI Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung Der angewandten Forschung e.V. (FhG-HHI)

The Fraunhofer Society (FhG) is an autonomous organisation with a decentralised organisational structure, which currently maintains about 70 research institutes throughout Germany. The research institutes carry out research and development work in close partnership with industry. Fraunhofer is committed to a rapid transfer of innovative solutions from application-oriented research and development to the industrial practice. It maintains a permanent patent office which supports patent management.

The core competence of the Fraunhofer Institute for Communications, Heinrich Hertz Institute (FhG-HHI) is in the areas of mobile broadband systems, photonic networks, and electronic imaging technology for multimedia. In its three main working areas, FhG-HHI is a valued partner in national and international co- operative research and development projects. It has 300 employees and 210 students as R&D assistants. In the area of Cellular Wireless Systems, FhG-HHI covers relevant topics from information-theoretic limits up to hardware demonstrators. Special emphasis is put on theories and techniques applicable to 4G and 5G systems.The Wireless Communication and Networks (WN) department at the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute in Berlin develops solutions within the broad area of wireless communication systems and networks ranging from information theory via channel measurement, algorithm and protocol design, system- and network simulation right through to the implementation of algorithms in demonstrators and tests in the field. Special emphasis is put on interference management, cross-layer optimisation, cognitive radio, multi-antenna systems, self-organisation and self-optimisation, heterogeneous access management, cooperative systems, distributed wireless networks including wireless sensor and resilient networks. Furthermore, WN has vast experience in 4G and 5G research and hardware demonstrations with the World’s first 1 Gbit/s MIMO- OFDM transmission shown at 3GSM World in Cannes (2005), the World’s first 3GPP-LTE live transmission shown at ITU Telecom World in Hong Kong (2006), and the World’s first outdoor LTE field trials conducted in Berlin (2008). Since 2008, WN operates the Berlin Wireless Testbed which consists of several base stations in the city of Berlin. The testbed is used to study elaborated research topics CoMP, Relaying, distributed antenna systems, C-RAN, UDN, Spectrum Sharing and 3GPP backbone infrastructures for unicast, multicast and broadcast service delivery. The objective of research in the photonic networks area is to make substantial contributions to the development of photonic networks and advanced photonic components. Fraunhofer-HHI has been involved in optical transmission research from the very beginning. Longstanding expertise exists also in InP-based photonic components and photonic integrated circuits, complemented by silica on silicon and polymer devices. Along with this expertise, a full range of design, modelling, measurement, and experimental capabilities exists for photonic networks. In the area of access optical networks the work addressed in particular the topic of cost-efficient fibre based subscriber lines and the use of wavelength division multiplexing. Further activities were related to broadband home area networks and optical wireless communications.

Fraunhofer HHI was/is involved in several national funded projects like HyEff, 3GET, 100GET, WIGWAM, ScaleNet, MxMobile, EASY-A, EASY-C, Smart RF, Mascot, TEROPP-D, CoMoRa, CONDOR, SAFARI, SASER,KUSZ, Communicate-Green, IntelliSpektrum and European funded research projects, such as WINNER 1 and 2, Winner+, SAPHYRE, METIS, MUSE, NOBEL 1 and 2, BATS, ABSOLUTE, 5GNOW, OMEGA, SOADLES BONE, GreenNets, STRAUSS, MiWEBA and has a rich experience in managing R&D projects.

cttc Centre Tecnologic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (CTTC)

The CTTC, located in Castelldefels (Barcelona), is a private non-profit R&D centre with substantial funding support from the autonomous government of Catalonia along with research and development partnership with industry. Research expertise is mainly focused on technologies related to the lower layers of communication systems, being that activity organized into four main divisions, namely, Communication Networks (CND), Communication Systems (CSD), Communication Technologies (CTD) and Geomatics (GD), each of them featuring key staff with both R&D and engineering skills. The main activities at CTTC consist of long-term research and development projects related to the above research areas.

The team of the CTTC involved in Xhaul has broad experience in research programs due to its participation in several Spanish and European public-funded R&D projects focusing on network control and management, including SDN/NFV. CTTC closely collaborates with leading research institutions in Europe or Japan. Additionally, CTTC has participated in a number of industrial contracts with several relevant companies (e.g., KDDI R&D Labs, Telefónica, Orange, Aviat Networks, Cisco, Wi-Fi Alliance). The team involved in Xhaul actively publishes in peer-reviewed journals and international conferences as a result of its studies on the design and performance evaluation of networking technologies (wired/wireless), whose research usually includes evaluations in cutting-edge laboratory infrastructure/equipment, which includes the EXTREME and ADRENALINE testbeds. More information available at: http://networks.cttc.cat

create-net Center for research and telecommunication experimentation for networked communities
(CREATE-NET)

CREATE-NET is an international research consortium based in northern Italy and founded in 2003 by some of the most prestigious universities and research centres in Europe (Technion, University of Trento, Fondazione Bruno Kessler), which employs around 100 people. By bringing together major academic institutions, corporations and research actors from around the world, CREATE-NET is engaged in combining highest quality research, addressing telecommunications and advanced services challenges, with experimentation on a unique real life testing and experimentation infrastructure in Trentino. CREATE- NET’s objective is to sponsor the highest quality research and innovation, and help convert talent and human capital into patents and start-ups for promoting European high-tech competitiveness, with the aim of building a global platform of scientific collaboration and experimentation in communications-driven technologies and applications. CREATE-NET has long experience with European collaborative project, within FP6 and FP7, and has a proven track record with project coordination, acting as coordinator of around 10 concluded research projects, and is currently coordinating key FP7 projects (including FP7 ICORE, FP7 NetIDE). CREATE-NET is also involved within the FI-PPP initiative and is contributing to key FI-PPP projects (Infinity, XIFI, FICORE). CREATE-NET has experience of collaborating in more than 40 community- funded research projects. Converting research outputs to intellectual property and identifying opportunities for technology transfer has long been the motto for its involvement in R&D projects, and exploitation and impact generation is a key attribute for CREATE-NET which is well knit into its R&D strategy. Recently it has setup three promising spin-offs (U-Hopper, eXrade, Intelinks) that are now capitalising on previous research efforts in community-funded projects. CREATE-NET has developed very strong collaborations, via bilateral projects, with major industrial stakeholders (Cisco Systems, Orange, Siemens, Ericsson, etc.) and has developed several patents that have been successfully transferred to the industry. The centre has significant collaborations with leading institutions in the US (MIT and Georgia Tech), China (Tsinghua and BUPT), South Africa (SAP/Meraka) and Israel (Technion).

polito Politecnico di Torino (POLITO)

The Politecnico di Torino (www.polito.it), founded in 1906, has a long-standing tradition of leadership of polytechnic culture. It is one of the most important universities in Europe for engineering and architecture studies, strongly committed to collaboration with industry. It is ranked at the 51st position worldwide (8th in Europe and 1st in Italy) in the field “Engineering/Technology/Computer Science” by ARWU (Academic Ranking of World Universities). The Politecnico offers excellence in technology and promotes the ability to carry out theoretical or applied research. It has close relationships with international institutions, companies and local government.

The Telecommunication Networks Group (TNG – http://www.telematics.polito.it) within the Electronics and Telecommunications Department has been active for a long time in several areas related with communication networks, including wireless, optical, TCP/IP and peer-to-peer networks, with a strong expertise on performance evaluation, modelling and analysis. The group has a long experience in European and national projects, and an internationally recognized expertise in the fields covered by the Xhaul project. Among the European projects, coordinated the NoEs, e-Photon/ONe and e-Photon/ONe+ and TREND; participated in BONE, Euro-NF, Euro-NGI and Euro-FGI, NewCom, NewCom++ and NewCom#, FIGARO, ECONET, STRONGEST, FEDERICA, STAMINA and NOBEL2. It was active in the Cost Actions: 257, 273, IC0703. Finally, TNG coordinated the FP7 STREP NAPA-WiNe. TNG is coordinating the FP7 IP project mPlane and the QNRF project GAD.

LUND Lunds Universitet (ULUND)

Lund University was founded in 1666. Today it is an international centre for research and education that has approximately 47,000 students and 6,300 employees, which makes it to one of the oldest and largest universities in Scandinavia. Lund University is respected as one of the best universities in Sweden, with cooperation with 630 partner universities in more than 50 countries. The Faculty of Engineering (LTH) is one of Sweden’s largest higher educational institutes for technical and engineering sciences. The Broadband Communications Group at the Department of Electrical and Information Technology (EIT) focuses on broadband access and core networks, on all layers. The research areas are applied signal processing, DSL systems, and network design. The group has a system-centric approach, where system functionality and maintenance is the main focus. They have a long history of research cooperation with academic and industrial partners both in Sweden and international. The group has an office at Ericsson in Stockholm since 2001 (co-location), to work on residential broadband. They are since integrated with Ericsson’s Broadband Research Group. The group now focuses on the densification of the mobile networks through small cells, in particular small cell back- and fronthaul together with Ericsson.

ITRI Industrial Technology Research Institute Incorporated (ITRI)

Founded in 1973, Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has played a vital role in transforming Taiwan’s economy from a labour-intensive industry to a high-tech industry. Focusing on six research fields including Information and Communications, Electronics and Optoelectronics, Material, Chemical and Nanotechnology, Medical Device and Biomedical, Mechanical and Systems, Green Energy and Environment, ITRI has aggressively researched and developed countless next-generation technologies. To date, ITRI holds more than 20,000 patents and has assisted in the creation of more than 240 start-ups and spin-offs. Numerous well-known high-tech companies in Taiwan, such as the leaders in the semiconductor industry TSMC and UMC, can trace their origins to ITRI.

The major pillars of Information and Communication research in ITRI include core technologies for Broadband Wireless Communications, Smart Internet of Everything, Broadband Convergence System & Integration, Mobile Digital Life, Telematics and Intelligent Transportation Systems, Cloud Computing System, Big Data Technologies, Intelligent System and Services Technologies, and SOC and System Platform Design Technology.