How the 6G Testbed enables Collaboration and Innovation
To get a deeper understanding of the significance of the 6G testbed, we spoke with Floris Drijver and Pawel Mackowiak of TNO, which is leading the development and implementation of the central 6G testbed.
Pawel is the FNS Lead Architect in WP 4.1 with 5 years’ experience as a scientist at TNO and a background in telecommunications. Floris is a Senior Scientist at TNO and the WP 4.1 Technical Lead. He has always been involved with Testbeds, like 5Groningen or the Do IoT Fieldlab. Both of them were educated at TU Delft.
What is the 6G Testbed?
Floris describes the 6G testbed as an "overarching platform for experiments and research," bringing together everyone who wants to explore and understand the potential of 6G. “We centralize all experiments and research, ensuring a collaborative approach where different parties can integrate their innovations,” he explains.
Pawel expanded on this by calling the testbed an "enabler." He noted, “It’s a space where program line initiatives can take their inventions, test them in real-world conditions, gather feedback, and refine their developments.”
The setup of the testbed marks a departure from its predecessor, the 5G testbed, focusing more on cooperation. “So, I think the main big difference compared to how it used to be is that there's no competition. It's one national initiative and that makes it much stronger.” Floris says.
What Makes This Testbed Unique?
The 6G testbed focuses on facilitating collaboration. “The core idea behind its design is openness,” Pawel highlights. “By focusing on open standards, we create a testbed where stakeholders—including SMEs—can test their solutions, and have the right ecosystem partners to do their testing with. ”
This openness also applies to its architecture. “Since, for example, there are no 6G radios available yet, we use Open Radio Access Network (ORAN) solutions as part of the baseline architecture, meaning the intelligence of the RAN has moved from physical devices to the cloud,” Pawel explains. This approach is needed since 6G standards are still in development.
Additionally, the testbed will be used for a wide range of verticals. According to Floris, “This is a national initiative, for verticals like healthcare, and agriculture. And by implementing one Dutch testbed, we make sure that we don’t duplicate our national testing efforts ”
Supporting SMEs
One of the objectives of the testbed is to encourage participation from SMEs. These smaller enterprises often bring unique challenges and ideas to the table, since they want to be more effective in their business.
“SMEs want to see if wireless connectivity can make their operations more efficient, or if virtualizing parts of their use cases will add value,” Floris explains. “Our testbed gives them the possibilities to do that.”
Testbed-as-a-Service
The testbed has already achieved various milestones, but its development is far from over. The first milestone was the creation of a blueprint design, and making sure it works.
The next big step will be connecting the field labs to the core testbed. “By the summer of 2025, we’ll have three testbeds fully integrated into the national core testbed,” Floris shares. Beyond that, there are plans to connect with other European 6G testbeds, to do larger-scale testing. In the broader European context, we would also like to explore how we can avoid duplicating the testing efforts.
We will also include Program Line 1 and Program Line2 in the 2nd half of 2025 for testing the 6G hardware and software they are currently developing. We strive for creating a testbed-as-a-service, we aim to make it as easy and intuitive as possible to test ideas,” Floris explains.
6G is Exciting!
When asked what excites them most about 6G, Pawel reflected on the opportunity to build the network from a completely new perspective. “With 6G, the focus has shifted from individual use cases to the network as a whole,” he explains. “Unlike 5G, where we built a cloud friendly network, 6G is about building a fully cloud native network.”
Floris agrees with him: “The focus has moved from the ‘last mile’ to the core infrastructure itself. It’s exciting to help build a network from the ground up, one that’s more cloud-native than we’ve seen before.”
Leading the way
The 6G testbed represents more than just technological advancement; it’s a platform for collaboration and innovation. Starting from humble beginnings as “a circuit board on a desk,” as Pawel puts it, it has since evolved into a national testbed with even bigger ambitions. We believe that The Netherlands can lead the way into the 6G era, and the 6G testbed is at the heart of it all.
As Pawel succinctly puts it, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Move fast, fail fast, and learn faster.” With the 6G testbed, this is starting to take shape.
