PLATFROM LEADER

Marc Emmelmann

COUNTRY/COUNTRIES

Germany

Short Description

The Berlin Platform is located at Fraunhofer FOKUS premises in Berlin, Germany. It provides the Technology and services to develop and run experiments using the latest 5G and 6G technologies.

Key assets in the current infrastructure are (all available at the FOKUS facility)

  • 5G SA RAN from multiple vendors (Huawei and Nokia permanently installed) operating in the 3.7 – 3.8 GHz campus network band. Outdoor coverage is provided in front of the FOKUS premises; indoor coverage is provided at the FOKUS’ parking deck and within the 5G laboratories of FOKUS.
  • 100 Gbps network core infrastructure.
  • 100 Gbps long-haul, DWDM-based backhaul connectivity: two DWDM nodes are located at FOKUS and are interconnected via a long-haul fibre optic allow to conduct experiments involving the local data center and an edge deployment installed far away.
  • Satellite NTN experimentation with Starlink LEO and GEO equipment.
  • 60 GHz mmWAVE backhaul link and 2.4 and 6GHz WiFi.
  • Automated execution of experiments via the Open5Genesis suite and 6G-Sandbox Suite.
  • Software for core network of 5G (SA) developed by Fraunhofer FOKUS.
  • Equipment to manage custom SIM cards.
  • Nomadic Nodes: a complete 5G Campus Network in a Box (RAN + Edge + Uplink).

Services currently offered by the infrastructure:

  • Integration and interoperability tests between 5G RAN and 5G core.
  • End-to-end performance evaluation of 5G deployments.
  • Automation of experiments with local and remote access for project partners.
  • Support for multidisciplinary research.
  • Development and evaluation of system concepts and components for future 6G networks.

6G-SANDBOX extensions and new features

The Berlin Site will be enhanced with all the software components developed in 6G-SANDBOX to create the trial networks and network digital twins (i.e., the components that will be hosted in the 6G Library) and will integrate 6G components at the physical infrastructure layer that are related to:

• Integration of real Open RAN radio technology, including RU/DU splits.
• Extension of the testbed with additional nomadic nodes for field tests.
• Extension by developing a platform for edge-based data acquisition, exchange, and analysis.