● These grants, funded by the European NextGenerationEU funds of the Recovery Plan, aim to strengthen the R&D ecosystem around the next generation of mobile technology by fostering public-private collaboration
● In this call, 56 million euros are allocated to improve the research infrastructure and scientific-technical equipment of universities and research centers, and almost 6 million euros to business initiatives of experimental development 5G+
● These grants are in addition to those already granted in 2021 and 2022, with a global government investment of more than 200 million euros and 203 projects benefited
● The list of adjudicators can consult in this link
Madrid, May 8, 2024.- The Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Service, through the Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructures, has published the final resolution of the call for the UNICO R+D 6G 2023 program. The programme will allocate EUR 62 million from European Next Generation EU Recovery Plan funds to 43 projects with the aim of strengthening the research ecosystem around the next generation of mobile technology.
These grants represent another embodiment of the Government’s commitment to investment in research, development and innovation in the current context of modernization and digital transformation, intensified with the investment of the NextGenerationEU funds and the Recovery Plan. The objective is to position Spain in a leading role in the deployment of 6G technology and that this represents a key impulse for the economy of our country, achieving an increase in production and efficiency when applying its potentialities.
The Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructures, María González Veracruz, has celebrated this new step “in the promotion of demand and the development of capacities in the 5G and 6G value chain. These disruptive technologies are going to multiply the economic possibilities with the applications that these aids promote, and the Government is preparing our country in both capacities and infrastructures to put this technology at the service of the economy and people.”
The Secretary of State recalled that “with the 62 million of this third call we exceeded 200 million total investment, and with these new 43 projects we reached a total of 203 projects benefiting, adding to those of the calls 2021 and 2022 of UNICO R+D”.
Two subprograms of grants
The "UNICO R+D 6G" programme is part of the Recovery Plan and the 5G drive strategy and has two distinct sub-programmes of support. 43 of the 52 projects presented have been estimated, with the aim of supporting both the infrastructure and scientific-technical equipment projects of universities and research centers and the R&D projects of Spanish companies in a medium maturity stage.
In particular, this resolution grants 56 million euros to the projects of universities and research centers for the financing of research infrastructures of 5G+ and 6G technologies and acquisition of scientific-technical equipment and almost 6 million euros to the business initiatives of R+D in 5G+ technology.
The program aims to involve a wide range of actors, both from the public and private sectors, to enable the development of new smart services that facilitate the digital and ecological transition of our economy.
With the allocation of these grants, the "UNICO R+D 6G" program is on track to achieve the objective of promoting "200 R+D projects related to 5G and 6G networks for 5G innovation and cybersecurity ecosystems" in Spain, with a total of 203 projects supported. Thus, the program consolidates its commitment to the promotion of technological innovation in the country.
For more details about the beneficiaries, you can consult the list in this link.
5G and 6G technology boost strategy
The 5G and 6G strategy developed by the Government aims to lead the deployment of these technologies in Europe as a priority axis of the Digital Spain Agenda by investing around 1.5 billion euros in global terms. The intention is that the country can use this disruptive technology to be able to develop the capacities that 5G and 6G are going to allow as an economic and social transforming element.
To this end, programmes covering all stages of development of these new mobile communication technologies have been launched in Spain with more than 300 million grants, including the development of pilot projects – by means of Red.es – and use cases, the integration of technology in industrial value chains (UNICO 5G Sectorial) and basic research and innovation in the next technological generations (UNICO R+D 5G advanced and this 6G).
All this, accompanied by the investment of more than 1,000 million euros to expand the deployment of infrastructures (UNICO 5G Backhaul and UNICO 5G ACTIVA) to provide 5G coverage to municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants throughout the provinces of Spain.
In addition, Spain has been one of the first countries in the European Union to have completed the allocation of the entire 5G spectrum, in addition to having dedicated 450 Mhz for self-provision and industrial use and increasing caps to allow operators to better manage traffic increases.