Publications - ECO eNET

6G KPIs – Definitions and Target Values

Authors: I. Mesogiti, A. Gavras, K. Trichias, K. Kaloxylos, F. Fontes, A. Charemis, M. Ghoraishi, et al.
Published in: SNS Publications
Date: February 2025

The Test, Measurement, and KPIs Validation (TMV) Working Group (WG) of SNS JU focuses on developing and sharing best practices for 6G testing, monitoring, and analytics. The TMV WG aims to promote common methodologies across projects, support 6G trial Use Cases (UCs), and ensure a unified European vision for the 6G network lifecycle. A key objective is the definition and validation of performance KPIs. This white paper consolidates 6G KPIs from SNS JU projects, providing definitions, target values, and context to shape the 6G vision. Furthermore, the TMV WG promotes common collection procedures, validation methodologies, and analysis of KPI metrics. Various SNS JU projects provided the KPIs, which drive their technical developments.

6G KVIs – SNS Projects Initial Survey Results 2025

Authors: I. Patsouras, A. Charemis, I. Wedikkara Gedara, M. Ghoraishi, P. Basaras, I. Mesogiti, et al.
Event: SNS JU Website
Date: May 2025

The Test, Measurement, and Validation (TMV) Working Group (WG) of SNS JU focuses on developing and sharing related experiences and best practices for 6G networks testing, monitoring, and assessment from various perspectives. More specifically, besides its strong focus on 6G networks’ technical performance, the TMV-WG, through the KVIs sub-working group, aims to set the scene for 6G networks’ impact monitoring and validation from the emerging dimension of Key Value Indicators (KVIs).
Within this context, the TMV WG aims to record, report, and promote state-of-the-art and new innovative methodologies for the monitoring and evaluation of the foreseen impact of the 6G networks on Key Values, as identified by SNS-JU projects.
This work leverages the methodology and previous work of 6G-IA on the definition of values and KVIs – which still progresses in the context of 6G-IA SNVC (Societal Needs and Value Creation Sub-Group) – addressing the dimension of evaluation of KVIs. To this end, various SNS JU projects provided the KVIs and information on how these can or will be evaluated in accordance with the use cases that are addressed. To align with the SNVC methodology, the main reported KVIs were classified into categories based on the impacted Key Values (KVs).

Ultra-wideband MHz to THz Plasmonic EO Modulator

Authors: Yannik Horst, David Moor, Daniel Chelladurai, Tobias Blatter, Sónia Fernandes, Laurenz Kulmer, Michael Baumann, Hande Ibili, Christian Funck, Killian Keller, Marcel Destraz, Wolfgang Heni, Loïc Chérix, Yuqi Liu, Hua Wang, Stefan M. Koepfli, Juerg Leuthold
Published in Optica, vol. 12, issue 3
Event: Optics Express
Date: March 2025

Electromagnetic fields at terahertz frequencies open a window to multiple applications, such as wireless communication, sensing, and medical imaging. Yet the challenge remains to efficiently generate, receive and process such high frequencies. In this work, we investigate plasmonic modulators to bring THz frequencies to photonic integrated circuits (PICs). We demonstrate a frequency response beyond the 1 THz and develop an equivalent circuit model of the modulator. Our results show that plasmonic modulators are uniquely suited for THz PICs.

Exploring Telemetry Collection Interval and Continuity in a Six-Month Study of a Pan-European Network

Authors: Kaida Kaeval, Torm Järvelill, Jasper Müller, Marko Tikas
Event: Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC) 2024
Published: 2025 Optical Fiber Communications Conference and Exhibition (OFC)
Date: July 2025

Reliable telemetry data is the key to unlocking machine learning-based network observability. This paper discusses the collection design, content, and continuity based on a 6-month-long data collection in a live network from the operator‘s perspective.

Optimizing Telemetry Forwarding for Distributed Failure Recovery in Packet-Optical Networks

Authors: Piotr Lechowicz, Carlos Natalino, Filippo Cugini, Francesco Paolucci, Paolo Monti
Published in: Journal of Optical Communications and Networking
Event: Journal of Optical Communications and Networking
Date: February 2025

Fast network recoverability from hard and soft failures is crucial for network operators to deliver uninterrupted services. Streaming telemetry has been studied as a solution for enabling fast and accurate failure detection in optical networks. However, significant delay is incurred when relying on a centralized entity (e.g., software-defined network controller) to collect, process, and act on telemetry data. Programmable switches (e.g., P4-based) allow telemetry data to be processed at line speed, enabling local on-device (distributed) decisions. These devices can be used to deploy quick and local mitigation to failures while a global solution is being computed on a longer time scale. However, designing network-wide streaming telemetry with distributed decisions remains an open challenge. In this work, we specify the joint optimization of packet-optical networks with on-device failure recovery, considering multiple aspects of the problem. The problem is modeled using linear programming and solved for multiple network realizations. The solutions can be used to program each switch in the network to detect failures and quickly recover the traffic. Results show that the proposed model decreases the required number of register entries to store telemetry data while assuring high recoverability and a minimized number of wavelengths.

Towards Better QoT Estimation: An ML Architecture with Link-Level Embedding Layers

Authors: Piotr Lechowicz, Carlos Natalino, Farhad Arpanaei, Stefan Melin, Renzo Diaz, Anders Lindgren, David Larrabeiti, Paolo Monti
Published in: IEEE Networking Letters
Event: IEEE Networking Letters
Date: April 2025

Machine learning (ML) is emerging as a promising tool for estimating the Quality of Transmission (QoT) in optical networks, especially for unestablished lightpaths where traditional methods are limited. However, inaccuracies in ML-based QoT predictions—typically expressed in terms of generalized signal-to-noise ratio (GSNR)—can significantly affect network operation. Overestimation may lead to retransmissions due to overly aggressive modulation format choices, while underestimation results in underutilized spectral resources. To address this, we propose a novel ML architecture that incorporates an embedding layer for link-level features alongside pathand service-level inputs. Using data generated from an accurate analytical model, we show that our approach reduces prediction error by up to 34% compared to standard architectures. Simulated deployment scenarios further demonstrate operational benefits, with a 15.9% decrease in incorrect and a 34.8% reduction in overly conservative modulation format selections

Operation of Optical Spectrum as a Service in Disaggregated and Multi-Operator Environments

Authors: Kaida Kaeval, Klaus Grobe, Jörg-Peter Elbers
Published in Journal of Optical Communications and Networking
Event: Journal of Optical Communications and Networking
Date: January 2025

Fiber optical communication networks are the backbone of our interconnected digital environments. Motivated by vendor neutrality and better utilization of the vacant optical spectrum in dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) networks, the operators are interested in implementing optical spectrum as a service (OSaaS) in their networks. In the OSaaS service model, the DWDM network operator grants the end customer direct access to the spectral resources in the DWDM system, and the transceiver equipment purchase, its operation, and future upgrades are the responsibility of the service end customer. If the spectral resources are available in adjacent network segments and the performance of the individual segment is adequate, OSaaS allows optical signals to be operated over thousands of kilometers, traversing multiple domains. These domains can be owned by different operators and built using different DWDM network technologies, utilizing different components and channel plans. This can pose a threat to the network integrity, as today, no dedicated demarcation points exist to police the received and transmitted signals as per the next domain’s requirements. This paper reviews the readily available equipment to provide demarcation functions between the operator domains and introduces an infrastructure-, DWDM technology-, vendor-, and domain-independent optical demarcation device called the network domain interface device (NeDID). We discuss how NeDID provides signal policing and compatibility monitoring, enabling a new, infrastructure-independent networking concept—a transparent optical overlay network (TOON). We further explain the ownership of the NeDID devices and investigate the techno-economic benefits of operating flexible and secure OSaaS over any underlying optical network infrastructure.

All-Plasmonic sub-Terahertz Wireless Link

Authors: Laurenz Kulmer, Tobias Blatter, Amane Zuerrer, Stefan M. Koepfli, Samuel Hess, Yannik Horst, Marcel Destraz, Jasmin Smajic, Yuriy Fedoryshyn, Juerg Leuthold
Published in: 2025 Optical Fiber Communications Conference and Exhibition (OFC)
Event: Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC) 2025
Date: March 2025

We offer a highest bandwidth, low-footprint, scalable and low-cost solution for subTHz wireless communication links. We employ a plasmonic-graphene approach. The solution is tested for transmission of 120Gbit/s at a carrier-frequency of 285 GHz.

Coexistence of Digital Coherent, mmWave and sub-THz Analog RoF Services using OSaaS over converged access-metro live production network

Authors: Devika Dass, Amol Delmade, Agastya Raj, Eoin Kenny, Dan Kilper, Liam Barry, Marco Ruffini
Published :2025 Optical Fiber Communications Conference and Exhibition (OFC)
Event: Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC) 2025
Date: March 2025

We demonstrate the end-to-end transmission of digital coherent and analog radio-over-fiber signals, at mmWave and sub-THz frequencies, over the HEAnet live production metro network using Optical Spectrum-as-a-Service (OSaaS), transparently connected to a passive optical network.

SNS Publications : 6G KPIS – DEFINITIONS AND TARGET VALUES

Eco-eNET is contributing to paper

Hybrid Digital PAM and 60 GHz Analog Radio over Fiber Optical Spectrum as a Service Applications

Authors: Devika Dass, Anil Raj Gautum, Lakshmi Narayanan Venkatasubramani, Liam Barry, Colm Browning, Dan Kilper, Marco Ruffini

Published in Optical Publish Group

We experimentally study transmission of digitally multiplexed 15 GBd PAM-8, wideband 16-QAM OFDM (WiGig) and narrowband 64-QAM OFDM (5G NR) waveforms over a 10 km fiber, undergoing up-conversion to 60 GHz and achieving FEC limited performance.

An AI-Assisted Framework for Lifecycle Management of Beyond 5G Services.

Authours: Manolopoulos, Alexandros-Ioannis & Alevizaki, Viktoria-Maria & Anastasopoulos, Markos & Tzanakaki, Anna.

Published in IEEE Access.

Future mobile communication networks aim to offer services and applications in the most flexible, adaptable and cost-effective manner. B5G networks aim at a fully softwarized network architecture, where hardware and software programming is used for the design, implementation, deployment, management, monitoring and maintenance of network equipment/components/services. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) techniques are steadily being integrated into 5G systems, offering intelligent automation, proactive network management, and resource allocation optimization. In this environment, the role of Management and Orchestration (MANO) is vital to ensure efficient infrastructure utilization and fulfillment of heterogeneous service requirements. Despite the development of various tools and platforms to facilitate MANO in 5G systems, in most cases there is still the need of human intervention and manual input for configuring the 5G elements according to service requirements. In this paper, a MANO framework has been developed, that specifically targets the orchestration operations of 5G networks. The proposed framework focuses on the lifecycle management of the 5G components, in order to achieve an operational environment with minimal human intervention or manual configuration (Zero Touch Networks -ZTN). Within this ecosystem, an Analytics & AI/ML Platform has comprehensive monitoring capabilities and influences decisions across various layers or aspects of the infrastructure. This includes optimizing the allocation and orchestration of both networking and edge/cloud computing virtual resources within the infrastructure.

Low-Complexity Event Detection and Identification in Coherent Correlation OTDR Measurements

Jasper Müller, Ognjen Jovanovic, Florian Azendorf, André Sandmann, Roman Ermakov, Sai Kireet Patri, Jörg-Peter Elbers, Jim Zou, Darko Zibar, Carmen Mas-Machuca

Published in 2024 Asia Communications and Photonics Conference (ACP) and International Conference on Information Photonics and Optical Communications (IPOC).

Pairing coherent correlation OTDR with low-complexity analysis methods, we investigate the detection of fast temperature changes and vibrations in optical fibers. A localization accuracy of ~2 m and extraction of vibration amplitudes and frequencies is demonstrated.

Towards Efficient Confluent Edge Networks

Rishu Raj, Devika Dass (Trinity College Dublin, Ireland); Kaida Kaeval (Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia); Sai Kireet Patri (Adtran Networks SE, Germany & Technical University of Munich, Germany); Vincent A.J.M. Sleiffer (Adtran, Sweden); Benedikt Baeuerle (Polariton, Ireland); Wolfgang Heni (Polariton Technologies, Switzerland); Marco Ruffini (CONNECT, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland); Colm Browning (MBRYONICS Ltd., Ireland & Dublin City University, Ireland); Alan Naughton (mBryonics, Ireland); Ruth Mackey (mBryonics Ltd, Ireland); David Mackey (mBryonics, Ireland); Boris Vukovic (ETH Zurich, Ireland); Jasmin Smajic (ETH Zürich, Switzerland); Juerg Leuthold (ETH Zurich, Switzerland); Carlos Natalino, Lena Wosinska and Tommy Svensson (Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden); Aleksandra M Kaszubowska-Anandarajah (Trinity College Dublin, Ireland & Connect Centre, Ireland); Ioanna Mesogiti (COSMOTE Mobile Telecommunications S.A., Greece); Simon Pryor (Accelleran NV, Belgium); Anna Tzanakaki (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece); Reza Nejabati (University of Bristol, United Kingdom (Great Britain)); Paolo Monti (Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden); Daniel Kilper (Trinity College Dublin & CONNECT Centre, Ireland)

Published in EuCNC – 6G Summit.

We provide a vision for 6G fixed networks based on flexible and scalable high-capacity transmission technologies that form mesh edge networks to achieve ultra energy-efficient highly available networks with low latency. These networks will be controlled by AI-native orchestration across mobile, fixed, and compute domains. Mesh networking at the edge will be enabled by a seamless ‘confluence’ of radio fixed wireless (RFW), free space optical (FSO), and switched flex grid wavelength division multiplexed (Flex-WDM) transport using optical-spectrum-as-a-service (OSaaS) and integrated sensing and communication capabilities. In addition, in the frame of the European Smart Network Services Joint Undertaking, the ECO-eNET project will investigate key technologies and concepts to determine the full potential of confluent networks as a viable and scalable platform for 6G.

DRL-Assisted Dynamic QoT-Aware Service Provisioning in Multi-Band Elastic Optical Networks

Published in 50th European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC 2024).

We propose a DRL-assisted approach for service provisioning in multi-band elastic optical networks. Our simulation environment uses an accurate QoT estimator based on the GN/EGN model. Results show that the proposed approach reduces request blocking by 50% compared with heuristics from the literature.