6G Resilience: The Foundation of Future Connectivity
Date, hour and room to be defined
Organizer
- Matti Latva-aho (Univ. Oulu, FI)
Motivation and Background
Our future society will be defined by digitalization, hyper-connectivity, and a global data-driven economy. Sixth-generation (6G) and beyond-6G wireless networks will not just enable faster speeds—they will be the backbone of a world where wireless connectivity is as critical as electricity and water. These networks will seamlessly bridge the digital and physical worlds, integrating into every aspect of life and industry. But with this deep reliance comes an undeniable risk: what happens when they fail?
The harsh reality is that past wireless generations—despite their impressive advancements—have treated resilience as an afterthought. The 3GPP standards have historically focused on performance, capacity, and efficiency while largely ignoring the fundamental need for resilience. As we move toward 6G, we cannot afford to repeat this mistake. Connectivity disruptions—whether caused by cyberattacks, natural disasters, electricity grid failures, planned outages, or failures inherent to wireless propagation—will have catastrophic consequences if resilience is not a core design principle from day one.
6G must be different. Beyond providing near-instant, virtually unlimited connectivity, it must be built with resilience at its core—designed to withstand and recover from disruptions at every level. Achieving this vision is not just a technical challenge; it is a necessity. We need groundbreaking innovations in network architectures, AI-driven self-healing systems, and proactive security mechanisms to ensure that 6G can stand up to the challenges ahead.
This panel will bring together leading experts from academia and industry to confront this challenge head-on. Panelists from major research programs in Europe, the USA, and Japan will discuss the critical innovations and enablers that will define the future of resilient 6G networks. The question is no longer whether resilience should be a priority—but rather, how will we ensure it?
Questions
- Technology: What fundamental changes in network architecture are required to ensure resilience in 6G compared to previous generations? What new redundancy mechanisms can 6G introduce to ensure seamless failover during network outages?
- Interdependencies of critical infrastructures: Given that 6G will integrate deeply with energy grids, healthcare, and industrial automation, how can we ensure cross-sector resilience when a failure in one system could cascade across multiple domains? How can 6G networks remain operational during power grid failures or extreme weather events, especially in critical infrastructure applications?
- Softwarization: How can we secure 6G networks, particularly with the increasing adoption of Open RAN and software-defined networking, which introduce new vulnerabilities e.g. via new supply chains or cloud based architecture?
- Standards and regulation: Should resilience be mandated in 6G standardization efforts (e.g., within 3GPP, ITU, and ETSI), and how can regulatory bodies enforce such requirements? Should governments mandate minimum resilience requirements for 6G networks, and if so, how should compliance be incentivized or enforced?
- Business considerations: Is there a business case for resilience in 6G, or will it always be seen as an additional cost with limited short-term returns? Will resilience become a key differentiator for mobile operators in the 6G era, and how can they market it as a competitive advantage?
Participants
Available soon
