Value Approach of 6G: The Role of Key Value Indicators in Design and Societal Impact
Thursday, 5 June 2025, 11:00 – 12:30, room 0:A
Session Chair:
- Katrina Petersen (Public Safety Communication Europe (PSCE), )
- Anastasius Gavras (Eurescom GmbH,)
- Monique Calisti (Martel Innovate,)
- Margot Bezzi (CyberSocial Lab,)
- Pooja Mohnani (Eurescom GmbH,)
The evolution of 6G technology is increasingly focused not just on technical advancement but on creating meaningful societal impact. As public expectations and policy pressures grow, developers of next-generation networks must demonstrate how they can address complex sustainability challenges. This requires developing processes to identify, prioritize, assess, and measure impact. Key Value Indicators (KVIs) have been introduced within the SNS JU community to provide a structured methodology for evaluating broader impacts, bridging the gap between societal values, high-performance technology, and business needs.
Practical implementations of KVIs are still evolving. Different interpretations of KVIs have been developed, resulting in a complex landscape. This challenge is especially evident in laboratory-based or low-maturity projects with limited stakeholder engagement or when projects are working in value areas that are less well understood, such as social sustainability.
The aim of this special session is to:
- Share case studies of successful KVI applications from different verticals and maturity levels;
- Discuss implementation challenges and strategic solutions to integrating societal values into 6G design and use;
- Further elaborate the conceptual framework behind KVIs and map inter-dependencies, between key ideas;
- Identify gaps and pathways for future work.
Presentations will provide concrete examples demonstrating how KVIs work in practice. They will focus on the current landscape of KVIs, clarify how they differ from—and relate to—Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). They will outline methodologies for prioritizing values across verticals and use cases and address how KVIs can be integrated into technology research projects, even those at low Technology Readiness Levels.
The panel discussion will explore how KVIs can bridge the gap between short-term outputs and long-term societal impacts. It will consider trade-offs and how social priorities can drive 6G innovation. It will discuss the challenges of working with longer term impacts, stakeholders, and decisions that are not always design-driven.
Programme
11:00 – 11:07: Opening – Monique Calisti
Welcome and introduction to the session scope, objectives and participants
Part 1: Presentations and Discussion
These presentations will set the stage, offering grounded examples around their experiences working with KVIs. When a presentation is co-authored by more than one person, it will be presented by a single person.
11:07 – 11:18: Talk by Stefan Wendt, Orange, HEXA-X-II
Title of the talk:
Bringing KVIs for societal impact, shaping them, and future work to come
HEXA-X-II will set the stage by describing its iterative process for deriving KVIs from use case and sustainability analyses that encompasses a technical evaluation, a business evaluation and a sustainability evaluation that is paired with stakeholder engagement (e.g. civil society). It enables the consideration of specific perspectives and needs, leading to the identification of key values (KVs) in the realm of social sustainability. Drawing on concrete examples from the project’s outputs, we will further share how these KVs are mapped onto KVIs, and explain a key distinction between use case KVIs and enabler KVIs—clarifying which KVs are beyond the influence of 6G design and which can be shaped by its technical design. The presentation will include use case analyses related to social sustainability, featuring specific examples from the project’s ongoing work to bring KVIs into prominence, bridging past and future efforts.
11:18 – 11:29: Talk by Athanassios Charemis, NOVA, Adroit6G
Title of the talk:
TMV WG – KVI estimation SG – Approach to KVIs consolidation and validation across SNS JU projects
Within the Test, Measurements, and Validation SNS-JU Working Group (TMV WG), the KVI Estimation Sub-Group undertook the task of collecting and consolidating the approaches of SNS projects to KVI monitoring, estimation, and validation. To this end, a White Paper titled “6G KPIs – Definitions and Target Values” has been produced. It surveys the current status of KVIs per Key Value category and addresses challenges as well as suggestions for the way forward. The group will share results from this collaborative effort, which aims to support global alignment and avoid fragmented standards. They will introduce the work and discuss the implications of emerging trends within the compiled KVI measurement approaches, along with recommendations for future work.
11:29 – 11:40: Talk by Claudia Chiavarino, IUSTO & Crossmedia Europe, TRIALSNET
Title of the talk:
Exploring different categories of KVIs and how they relate to social sustainability
Based on data from TRIALSNET use cases, we analyze how KVIs for societal sustainability influence technology adoption patterns across diverse sectors and integrate with established KPIs. KVIs serve as guiding metrics that capture societal values. By examining their role across different verticals—particularly Security & Safety, and Culture, Tourism & Entertainment—we identify how KVIs contribute to the formation of distinct proximal and distal impact pathways. Distinguishing between proximal and distal KVIs offers a novel framework for understanding the nuanced impacts of technological innovation. Proximal KVIs, such as availability and acceptance, are directly influenced by KPIs and can often be assessed during the project lifecycle. In contrast, distal KVIs—including inclusion, social sustainability, and cultural connection—are shaped by user perceptions and societal values, typically requiring longer time horizons for evaluation. Challenges in KVs assessment and possible solutions to integrating societal values into 6G design and use will be discussed.
11:40 – 11:52: Talk by Javier Garcia Rodrigo, Telefonica, ORIGAMI/ 6G-SAFE, Gilberto Berardinelli, Aalborg University, 6G-SHINE & Rantopoulos Michalis, OTE, 6G-INTENSE/6G-Bricks
Title of the talk:
Some reflections on how to work with KVIs on low-TRL projects
Bringing together collaborative efforts across low-TRL projects, this final presentation will share solutions to KVI challenges that are particularly prominent in these contexts—namely, the tendency for KVIs to be more technology-driven than stakeholder-driven. Unlike projects with strong use cases, low-TRL initiatives often begin not with a Key Value (KV) but with specific KPIs, which are then grouped into one or more KVIs aligned with overarching values. For example, 6G-SHINE will present how it uses proxy-KPIs and conceptual scenarios to connect with uncertain long-term benefits and improve understanding of potential future impacts. ORIGAMI will share how it engages with KVIs and enabling technologies in a project that is not vertically oriented, though with the goal of eventually supporting vertical applications. Finally, 6G-BRICKS will describe its innovative framework for forming KVIs for Proof of Concepts (PoCs), which allowed for both objective and subjective measurement methods.
Part 2: Future Steps
Looking ahead to future work, Bahare Masood Khorsandi (Nokia, SUSTAIN-6G) will introduce the approach of SUSTAIN-6G, an SNS JU Lighthouse Project, toward a holistic sustainability framework for 6G. The project focuses on defining sustainability concepts, developing assessment methodologies, and establishing guidelines and best practices that shape Key Value Indicators (KVIs), with the goal of supporting industry-wide alignment and standardization. SUSTAIN-6G aims to define and assess sustainability goals, enhance the integration of 6G with vertical use cases to reduce environmental impact, and develop a Sustainability Management Plan (SMP) for sustainable network operations. In addition, the project will validate and demonstrate the sustainability of 6G technologies and deliver comprehensive guidelines and a strategic roadmap for 6G development.
Part 3: Panel Session: How to take KVIs forward?
Presentations will be followed by a panel with experts who bring diverse experience from applying and framing KVIs (e.g. from different project streams, vertical applications, access to stakeholders, disciplines) to discuss how KVIs can be effectively integrated into decision-making processes, balance competing priorities, and adapt to evolving stakeholder needs, all while ensuring alignment with societal value and sustainability objectives. We will conclude by reflecting on concrete steps toward a harmonised approach to KVIs that aligns 6G innovation with a focus on societal impacts.
Panelists:
Stefan Wendt, Orange, HEXA-X-II
Athanassios Charemis, NOVA, Adroit6G
Hassan Osman, Real Wireless, TRIALSNET
Stefan Wunderer, Nokia, 6G-IA SNVC SG Lead
Bahare Masood Khorsandi, Nokia, Sustain 6G
Katrina Petersen, PSCE, 6G4Society
Discussion led by Anastasius Gavras (Eurescom GmbH, SUSTAIN-6G)
Questions:
- What is the objective of using KVIs, and why is measuring societal value important?
- What are the markers of a good KVI?
- How do KVIs differ from KPIs, and how can projects approach trade-offs between them?
- What kinds of decisions should be made with KVIs (e.g. for design, policy, public accountability)?
- What methodologies and criteria ensure effective selection and evaluation of KVIs?
- How can KVIs balance stakeholder interests, policy goals, and business objectives?
- How should KVIs adapt to different project stages or stakeholder needs?
- When and how should external stakeholders contribute to the KVI process (e.g. who would use or be affected by a technology)?
When working towards societal sustainability, what key values and objectives should 6G cover?
