Call for Papers

The Open Research Infrastructures and Toolkits for 6G (OpenRIT6G) Workshop will be held on 5 April 2027 in Panama City, Panama, in conjunction with IEEE WCNC 2027. This year’s theme is AI for 6G Research Infrastructure Automation & Research Infrastructure for AI Innovation in 6G Networks and Applications.

We invite original, previously unpublished papers empirically addressing key issues and challenges in experimental digital infrastructures for 5G-Advanced and 6G, including wireless, IoT, edge and cloud infrastructures, applications and data management, AI-native network automation, Open RAN, and Non-Terrestrial Network integration. We are particularly interested in papers describing new developments, experimental results, lessons learned, tools, platforms, and practical experiences arising from open research infrastructures and experimental testbeds.

This is the first WCNC edition of the OpenRIT6G series, following editions at IEEE GLOBECOM 2023, 2024 and 2025, regional editions in Cape Town (2024) and Santiago (2025), and OpenRIT6G@HUST and OpenRIT6G@ICCE in Vietnam (July 2026).

Important Dates

Paper submission deadline16 October 2026
Acceptance notification22 January 2027
Camera-ready submission18 February 2027
Workshop5 April 2027

Topics of Interest

We solicit original papers on topics including, but not limited to:

  • Advanced wireless networking experimentation – new waveforms, frequencies up to THz, next-generation and nomadic networks, dynamic and shared spectrum access, integrated sensing and communication, Non-Terrestrial Networks (LEO/GEO integration, direct-to-device, TN–NTN convergence testbeds), heterogeneous radio management, AI-native and agentic network automation on open testbeds, networks for AI, and new 6G device classes such as autonomous robots, drone/UAV swarms, and AR/XR smart glasses.
  • Smart and intelligent infrastructure operation and management – virtualization, softwarization and programmability, federation and interoperability, digital sovereignty and regional/national open 6G ecosystem building, AI applied to infrastructure operation and optimization, data generation for training algorithms, distribution of intelligence to the edge, RICs, SMOs, and SOM.
  • Edge, cloud, Open RAN and core infrastructures for vertical needs – software and component deployment, management and optimization, open-source toolkits, CI/CD/CT and infrastructure openness, distributed resource and geo-distributed data management, federated deep learning, use cases and deployment best practices, private and public campus networks vs. large carrier networks.
  • Open data methodology for scientific instruments – instrumentation and measurement, architecture and APIs, experiment design and life-cycle management, data management and reproducibility, testbed implementation and operation.

The full list of topics is available on the Call for Papers page.

Workshop Format

OpenRIT6G @ WCNC 2027 is planned as a full-day workshop with two keynote talks featuring speakers from the USA, Europe, and South America, an industrial panel, and two to three technical paper sessions with four presentations each.

Paper Submission

Submission instructions and the paper submission portal will be announced on the workshop website. Papers are due by 16 October 2026.

Read the full Call for Papers

Workshop Co-Chairs

Data-Driven Research, Reproducibility, and FAIR Practices in Future G Networks Workshop @ IFIP Networking May 26 2025

We are pleased to co-locate our Data-Driven Research, Reproducibility, and FAIR Practices workshop in Future G Networks with the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) Networking 2025, May 26, Limassol, Cyprus. It is a great opportunity to publish research work and operational experiences on the following topics.

* Explore methodologies and platforms that support FAIR data practices and reproducibility in digital infrastructures and Future G Networks.
* Discuss challenges and opportunities in data-driven research involving AI/ML methodologies.
* Share best practices and lessons learned from reproducibility-focused initiatives across disciplines.
* Foster collaboration and innovation to create scalable, low-barrier data sharing and reproducibility solutions.
* Development, Curation, dissemination and standardization of data formats, metadata and archiving principles for large-scale data set management.

For more information, https://networking.ifip.org/2025/index.php/workshops/slices

GLOBECOM 2024

IEEE GLOBECOM 2024 Workshop on Open Research Infrastructures and Toolkits (OpenRIT6G)

The IEEE GLOBECOM 2024 Workshop on Open Research Infrastructures and Toolkits for 6G (OpenRIT6G) took place on Sunday, December 8, 2024, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), South Africa. This workshop merged two significant research initiatives: the FutureG Experimental Test Platforms initiative from GLOBECOM 2023 and the OpenRIT6G initiative launched in Cape Town in March 2024. Key international stakeholders supported the workshop, including the German 6G Platform, Open6GHub, PAWR, SLICES RI, and the IEEE Future Networks initiative.

A Vision for Open and Federated Research Infrastructure

With the increasing complexity of modern networks, there is a growing need for open, modular, and federated network infrastructures that can cater to diverse vertical application needs. The workshop highlighted the importance of establishing open research environments that integrate AI, cloud-native architectures, Open RAN, and private networks. Participants discussed how these infrastructures can support innovation, facilitate reproducibility in research, and contribute to sustainable digital ecosystems.

Keynote speaker Tsabi Molapo (Telkom SA) opened the workshop with a talk on “Open Research Infrastructures and Tools for Connecting the Unconnected: Reshaping the Future of Connectivity.” The presentation underscored the role of open experimentation platforms in bridging the digital divide and fostering sustainable connectivity solutions.

Technical Contributions and Insights

The workshop featured insightful papers. Notable presentations included:

  • LEO Satellite Mobile Direct NB-IoT Communication – A study from the University of Tokyo exploring low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications for IoT applications.
  • Empirical Evaluation of Private 5G Networks for Urban Environments – A Germany-based study evaluating 5G cell performance for slow-speed vehicular use cases.
  • Network Automation and Open RAN Developments – Several presentations explored AI-driven automation for Open RAN and multi-agent architectures for xApps in next-generation networks.
Panel Discussion: “Towards a Realistic 6G for All”

A highlight of the workshop was the international panel discussion, which featured experts from academia, industry, and regulatory bodies, including representatives from ICASA (the South African Regulator), NTT Docomo, Rutgers University, UFRJ/RNP (Brazil), and Eurescom. The discussion centred on the challenges and opportunities of 6G development, emphasising the evolving role of private networks and the necessity for open, accessible research infrastructures.

The IEEE GLOBECOM 2024 OpenRIT6G workshop successfully set the stage for further collaboration in open research infrastructures, paving the way for future innovations in NextG networking.

6G Berlin Conference

Open 6G for all – Towards Open 6G Research Infrastructures and Toolkits (Open6GRIT) International Panel

Berlin 6G Conference 2024 – The Annual Networking Event of the German 6G Program
Organized by the 6G Platform Germany, Berlin Congress Center (bcc),
03 July, 2024, https://www.6g-platform.com/berlin-6g-conference/

Summary:

Lots of experiences have been gained in the past that open test and prototyping infrastructures are of key importance for the early prototyping of next generation mobile network technologies and applications. And with the increasing complexity of technologies due to disaggregation of network functions and components while addressing an increasing need for specific vertical application domain adaptations this is becoming even more important.

Understanding the increasing desire for local eco system developments in different regions of the world and the growing diversity in value chains and business models, the early provision of open research infrastructures and related toolkits becomes of high relevance for accomplishing the vision of an “Open 6G for all”, enabling both academia and industry to get started for the international standardization.

In this panel we bring together distinguished domain experts to discuss the subject.

Chair: Thomas Magedanz, Fraunhofer FOKUS / TU Berlin

Panelists:

Aki Nakao, Tokyo University, Japan

Kostas Chalkiotis, Deutsche Telekom, Germany

Maria, Guta, European Space Agency, The Netherlands

Serge Fdida, Sorbonne University, France

Anita Dohler, NGMN Alliance

Anastasius Gavras, EURESCOM, Germany

Tony Quek, SUDT, Singapore (remote)

Abhimnayu Gosain, Northeast University, USA (remote)

IEEE ICC Panel

Towards an Open 6G for the inclusion of all – Understanding the role of open 6G research infrastructures and toolkits

IEEE International Conference on Communications – Scaling the Peaks of Global Communications
June 12, 2024 // Denver, CO, USA, https://icc2024.ieee-icc.org/

Download the presentation below:

ICC-Open6Gforall-Panel-Intro

Summary:

The expectations on 6G are ambiguous as it should extend 5G into several technical and societal dimensions. Particularly, when looking at the targeted UN SDGs, 6G is expected to become the network for all, connecting different vertical industries, as well as the unconnected around the globe. While global research is still debating on evolutionary vs. revolutionary architectural approaches, many operators have made clear, that 6G has to be backward compatible to allow a smooth network transition and to avoid massive investments into a new infrastructure without clearly identifiable killer applications. 

Understanding the current lessons learned from global 5G rollout challenges, as well as the increasing notion of private networks, opening and disaggregation of radio and core network architectures, and emerging open source implementations of 5G  technologies driving innovations one could assume, that 6G might be strongly affected by this.

In this international panel stretching four continents bringing together both relevant industry and academia speakers, we want to discuss the role, plannings and state of play for building up open 6G research infrastructures and toolkits around the globe to allow both industry and academia to get an early practical understanding on emerging 6G technologies and to actively contribute to 6G research, standardization and developments from different national perspectives. In particular, we want to discuss how university students around the globe, including those from developing and emerging countries, could be included in this “practical education”, to be able to design and build up their own national public and/or private 5G/6G networks in the future. 

We also want to discuss best practices and current road blocks and show stoppers identified from the international panelists.

This panel is supported by the 6G Platform Germany (https://www.6g-platform.com/) and the German Open6GHub flagship project (https://www.open6ghub.de/en/).

Moderator:  Prof. Dr. Gerhard P. Fettweis, TU Dresden / 6G Platform

Final Panelists: 

  • Takehiro Nakamura, NTT DOCOMO, Japan
  • Abhimanyu Gosain, Northeastern University, USA
  • Prof. Dr. Joyce Mwangama, University of Cape Town, South Africa
  • Prof. Dr. Ari Poutto, University of Oulu, Finland
  • Frank Fitzek, TU Dresden, Germany

More information available at: https://icc2024.ieee-icc.org/program/industry-panels#ip10

IFIP Keynote

Understanding the Potential of Open Campus Networks for driving an Open 6G  – Lessons learned from the German Flagship Project CampusOS – Keynote T. Magedanz

IFIP/IEEE Networking 2024
3-6 June, Thessaloniki, Greece, https://networking.ifip.org/2024/

Summary:

This keynote is addressing the role of emerging Open 5G Campus Networks and their role in the evolution towards 6G.
There is no doubt, that in many countries customized Non-public / Private / Campus Networks are currently being considered to be a solution to leapfrog commercial public 5G deployments in order to meet specific requirements of enterprises in different vertical sectors in their digital transformation. We can witness that thanks to different business and operation models, in which operators, third parties, or the enterprises themselves are planning, deploying and operating these networks. What is still needed is a catalogue of open modular components and useful blueprints illustrating how to combine adequate components for realizing efficiently different use cases. The German BMWK Flagship Project Campus-OS and its associated “satellite projects” are addressing this challenge to stimulate the creation of a new European ecosystem for building self-sovereign open, modular campus networks for different industry sectors (https://campus-os.io/) since the beginning of 2023 and have reached by now good progress.

In this keynote Prof. Magedanz is providing an overview of the project and its achievements in regard to business and operation model options, component catalogue and available blue prints.

In addition, the keynote will also outline the relevance of this research work in regard to its relevance on current 6G research, as a lot of the internationally targeted 6G innovation areas are already being addressed in the campus network evolution, such as the research on higher spectrum RAN, satellite integration, dynamic spectrum usage, new positioning and sensing capabilities, network automation and deep integration of AI/ML, open network architectures and new eco system developments, etc. 

COMMUNICASIA 2024

AI-Driven Networking with 6G: Envisioning the Next Frontier

Panel at COMMUNICASIA 2024, SINGAPORE EXPO
29 MAY 2024, https://asiatechxsg.com/communicasia/

In this panel moderated by Prof. Magedanz we international experts, namely

Takehiro Nakamura, NTT Docomo, Japan

Harald Gsoedl, Rohde & Schwartz, Germany

Chen Binbin, SUTD, Singapore

Sun Sumei, A*STAR, Singapore

discussed about

  • What are today after 4 years research the main drivers / use cases / technical innovation areas for 6G?
  • Standardization will start soon, how important will be practical prototyping (PoCs)?
  • How important will be the 5G evolution towards an open (RAN) in this context? 
  • How important will be an “Open 6G for all” concept to address different region’s requirements?
  • How important are research and testing infrastructures and toolkits?
  • What is the role of AI in this context (AI in the network vs. AI on top of the network)?

More information is available at: https://asiatechxsg.com/communicasia/communicasia-agenda/