Tag: eu

Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU) to participate in the 2023 EuCNC & 6G Summit Event

The Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU) is proud to announce its participation in the upcoming European Conference on Networks and Communications (EuCNC) and 6G Summit joint event in Gothenburg, Sweden, from 6-9 June 2023. This event will bring together experts in the field of networks and communications from across the world to discuss the latest research and innovations in 5G, 6G and future communications systems.

Launched in 2022, the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU) is an EU funding body that drives research and innovation in the field of smart networks and services, with the ultimate goal of enhancing the digital infrastructure of the future and building Europe’s leadership in this area. The SNS JU currently supports 35 Research and Innovation (R&I) projects across 9 key technological areas and with over €250 million of investment. These ongoing projects are now reaching milestones in their respective fields. Some 25 more projects should start at the beginning of 2024.

The SNS JU was instrumental in advancing the field of networks and services – particularly in the context of the upcoming 6G technology. It works closely with the 5G Public-Private Partnership (5G PPP) to ensure a seamless transition from 5G to 6G, with the aim of creating a robust and reliable digital infrastructure in Europe.
The 2023 EuCNC & 6G Summit focuses on all aspects of telecommunications ranging from 5G deployment and mobile Internet of Things (IoT) to 6G exploration and future communications systems and networks, bringing together cutting-edge research, and world-renowned industries and businesses. In past editions, the event has attracted over 1,300 delegates from 40 countries and featured over 70 exhibitors.

Director for Future Networks at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT) Pearse O’Donohue will open the event.
“We are all using 4G. 5G is being introduced. And 6G is something that is coming at the end of the decade. So it is important that we already start the research in this area, so we make sure we have the necessary technology ready for our economy, services and our society”, Peter Stuckmann, Interim Executive Director of the SNS JU stated in a recent interview.

Colin Willcock, Chairman of the SNS JU Governing Board and the 6G Industry Association (6G-IA) will also participate in the event. He underlines “what is unique about the SNS JU is that it’s a Public Private Partnership”. Indeed, funding for the SNS JU comes from both the public side (European Commission) and the private (European industry). “This way, we make sure we look at the right problems, so we create the right technology for European industry going forward”, Willcock concluded.
SNS projects will present their latest developments at the event. The full programme and speakers can be found here: https://www.eucnc.eu/programme/

Paysend launches new European Hub in Dublin to drive EU growth strategy with plans to hire 30 employees

Paysend, the UK-based fintech with a rapidly growing market share in card-to-card consumer payments, today announced the opening of an EU office in Dublin to drive its expansion into the European market. Having recently received an Electronic Money Institution licence (EMI) from the Central Bank of Ireland, the new location will be used to expand the simple card-to-card payment service provided by digital payments company Paysend into new European corridors.

Led by European CEO, Céline Singleton, the office is in the process of recruiting a team of up to 30 employees to take the strategy forward.

The Dublin office will be one of four global hubs run by Paysend, alongside Miami, Edinburgh and global head office London. Paysend already operates in over 170 countries worldwide serving more than 7 million customers.

Paysend Europe CEO, Céline Singleton commented, “Dublin has become a great operating hub for tech companies, with a skilled workforce and a thriving business community. We have an excellent opportunity here to attract top talent to help drive our growth into more locations in Europe.”

Group CEO of Paysend, Ronald Millar added, ‘This is a key strategic move for us. We have built an impressive global footprint since we launched in 2017, and the opportunity we now have, with the support of the Irish Industrial Development Agency (IDA) and the European EMI License that we have been granted, to expand further into Europe is exciting. As the former Head of Payments at Ulster Bank, Céline is well placed to take our ambitions forward as she builds the team and drives the growth of Paysend Europe forward.’

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD, Minister of State at the Department of Finance said: “I am delighted that Paysend has chosen Dublin to grow its EU business.  They are joining a thriving export focused international financial services ecosystem in Ireland. Government is committed to growing the financial services sector across the country, through the Ireland for Finance strategy that I lead, and where fintech and digital finance is a key theme.

The expansion by Paysend is a valuable endorsement of the future growth potential for firms in Ireland based on sound regulation and the availability of talented people here. I look forward to working with Paysend in the future and wish them every success.”

Adding support for Paysend’s initiative, Mary Buckley, Executive Director IDA Ireland said, ‘Ireland has a proven track record of being an attractive location for global companies to access a well-established talent

Irish consortium led by ServBlock and Irish Manufacturing Research win EU funding to build Manufacturing Data Space

Blockchain and pharmaceutical compliance company ServBlock has received funding alongside Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) to build a trusted data exchange system for outsourced pharmaceutical manufacturing. Wicklow based ServBlock leads a consortium that includes NEXA | EAM (Cork), Ingeniero Solutions (Dublin) Unison Process Solutions (Limerick) and Plant Quest (Waterford) as a pioneering test case for trusted data transfer in pharma supply chains.

The project is supported by the EU’s i4Trust program, which provides funding for innovative research and development projects. The funding will enable the consortium to bring together experts from various fields, including data science, manufacturing, and engineering.

Welcoming the funding announcement, Adrian Hovenden, IMR’s Industrial Solutions Architect said: “Irish Manufacturing Research is delighted to have worked with IMR Member, ServBlock, to successfully secure the i4Trust funding for MANU SPACE. Collaborating with IMR members to create impactful solutions for the Irish manufacturing industry such as this Data Space, is key to ensuring the continued growth and development of the sector. IMR are excited to participate in this consortium and facilitate improvements in patient outcomes through improvements to pharmaceutical manufacturing and supply chain.”

In pharmaceutical manufacturing 20% of executives in management cite disparate systems and data sources among key challenges in addressing top manufacturing objectives for life sciences companies. A dataspace is a way of bringing together data from different sources and making it accessible and usable for a variety of purposes, such as research, analysis, or decision-making.

Data spaces can be used in a variety of contexts, such as in business, science, or government. The manufacturing data space will bring together data from different factories, production lines, and supply chains, to gain insights into the efficiency and competitiveness of the manufacturing process.

In the pharmaceutical industry 60% of all manufacturing is outsourced, companies outsource business activities to external partners for a variety of reasons – cost, flexibility, time to market, and core competence. This outsourcing leads to an increased risk of non-compliance to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) procedures which in turn could be a risk to the brand reputation of the company. By utilising the Manufacturing data space pharmaceutical companies can ensure contract manufacturers adhere to the same integrity, compliance, and quality operations as in-house manufacturing.

John Ward, CEO and founder of ServBlock, said: – “We are excited to be a part of this important project and look forward to working with our partners to bring the manufacturing data space to life. Coming on the back of our recent collaboration with Microsoft, this opportunity will allow ServBlock to continue to accelerate growth while being at the forefront of the Data Space movement.”

Dublin City and Virgin Media To Field Trial a WiFi4EU-Compliant Network Utilizing Telecom Infra Project OpenWiFi Solution

Telecom Infra Project (TIP) OpenWiFi is ideal for publicly sponsored urban Wi-Fi deployments. It allows the selection of the most appropriate solution based on use case rather than a single vendor’s products, facilitates the independent replacement and upgrading of components, and is compatible with municipalities’ procurement needs for vendor diversity and state-of-the-art technologies.

Dublin City Council, Ireland, supported by Virgin Media Business, the city’s internet service provider, is installing Wi-Fi 6 Access Points that are compliant with TIP OpenWiFi as a trial of open, disaggregated solutions for potential use in the city’s public Wi-Fi network. TIP OpenWiFi is compliant with the technical requirements of the European Commission’s WiFi4EU initiative, the benchmark for public Wi-Fi deployments in Europe.

WiFi4EU is a ground-breaking initiative that promotes free access to Wi-Fi connectivity for citizens in public spaces including parks, squares, public buildings, libraries, health centers and museums in municipalities throughout Europe. Municipalities receive a voucher that pays for the network  including maintenance of the equipment to offer free and high-quality Wi-Fi connectivity for at least three years. Dublin City’s WiFi4EU Wi-Fi network will be a free Wi-Fi network and available throughout  its historic city center.

“A smart city is built around collaboration and openness. We are delighted to be trialing Wi-Fi options that are built with an open source architecture that enables multi-vendor interoperability,” said Jamie Cudden. Smart City Program Manager, Dublin City Council.

Dublin City Council’s public Wi-Fi  trials are using TIP OpenWiFi-compliant products and software including a cloud-based controller from NetExperience and access points from Edgecore and HFCL.

“Virgin Media is recognized for providing ‘clever tech’ with ultrafast speeds and ultra-reliability. We’re industry leaders offering our customers the latest technology and it just made sense to trial Dublin City Council’s Wi-Fi network using TIP OpenWiFi standards as part of our innovation partnership with the council ,” said Noel O Reilly, Business Products and Solutions Manager, Virgin Media Business.

TIP OpenWiFi is an open source-based Wi-Fi architecture that enables multi-vendor, interoperable Wi-Fi networks. The TIP OpenWiFi-based solution enables the Dublin City Council and Virgin Media to seamlessly mix and match additional access points and controllers from any TIP OpenWiFi compliant manufacturer, enabling it to easily expand the city center network.

A TIP OpenWiFi network can also support OpenRoaming, with no change in hardware or software. This demonstrates the innovation and maturity of TIP OpenWiFi.

OpenRoaming, based on Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Passpoint and the Wireless Broadband Alliance’s Wireless Roaming Intermediary eXchange (WRIX) standards, allows users to automatically connect to Wi-Fi networks without logging in. It also offloads mobile connectivity and enables wireless convergence.

Municipalities can learn more about TIP OpenWiFi and get involved in this initiative here.