OPTI-6G project at SME Working Group Convened Session “Presentation in SME Working Group”

A convened session titled “SMEs in the Spotlight: Driving Innovation in the Next Generation of Communication Networks,” was held on 5 June at the EuCNC & 6G Summit 2025.

The session opened with Jessica Carneiro (SME WG Chair), Oana Radu (SNS JU Programme Officer), and Rui Aguiar (NetworldEurope Chair), who underlined the strategic importance of SMEs in Europe’s transition to 6G, digital sovereignty, and industrial leadership.

Success stories were shared by four pioneering SMEs: Janez Sterle (Internet Institute), Adam Flizikowski (IS-Wireless), Edgardo Montes de Oca (Montimage), and Israel Koffman (RunEL). The session concluded with a high-level panel on SME innovation and scalability featuring Mikael Fallgren (Ericsson and SNS SB Chair), Konstantinos Maliatsos (University of the Aegean), Yudani Riobó Gestido (Quobis), and Kostas Trichias (6G-IA and SNS TB Chair).

Israel Koffman, representing the RunEL partner in OPTI-6G (on the left), presented significant innovations developed under the OPTI-6G and TRIALS-NET projects. His intervention focused on the application of 5G technologies to Real Time Location Systems (RTLS), with a particular emphasis on achieving ultra-accurate positioning capabilities.

He demonstrated how 5G-enabled RTLS can deliver centimetre-level accuracy, representing a two orders of magnitude improvement over existing cellular-based location technologies. The presentation outlined the technical advantages of 5G in this context, including its ability to provide both indoor and outdoor coverage, support for low-latency operations essential for tracking fast-moving assets such as autonomous vehicles, and scalability to accommodate thousands of devices per cell. Furthermore, he emphasised that 5G RTLS does not require the use of special tracking devices, as all 5G user equipment (UE) can be located directly. When the positions of base stations are known, absolute three-dimensional UE positioning is also achievable.

This presentation underscored the strategic role that SMEs such as RunEL play in advancing the capabilities of next-generation communication networks and in driving forward the European agenda for digital innovation and technological leadership.