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Leveraging 5G to Research the 6G
Leveraging 5G to Research the 6G
HSNLab at BME and Ericsson Hungary are closely cooperating in our research on 6G, the sixth generation of mobile systems that will become the dominant technology of the telecommunications ecosystem in the decade starting with 2030. The Ericsson-BME 6G joint research and development cooperation is aiming at closing the gap between the expectations of prospective users of the mobile systems and the technological challenges to efficiently support such usage scenarios. In this endavour we build on our strong foundations in 5G research and development, since several features of the forthcoming 6G systems can be tested and emulated in an 5G Advanced network environment. Also, lessons learned during the operation of and demonstrations run in the 5G Campus Ericsson-BME Network are used to extend the capabilities of the future mobile systems.
The knowledge accumulated during the R&D activities is used in the daily teaching activities, the knowledge sharing events with the national regulatory bodies and local enterprises and our academic research cooperations.
The 5G Campus Ericsson-BME Research Network
The 5G Campus Ericsson-BME Research Network
More than five years ago we started the Ericsson Hungary – BME 5G joint R&D Cooperation, and our work is based on the 5G Campus Ericsson-BME Network. We demonstrate 5G specific use cases on top of this infrastructure, showcasing the 5G answers given to the complex challenges of specific industries, the verticals. We focused our research on two verticals with major economic and social impact, highlighting the added value of selected 5G features to both smart agriculture scenarios and real-time automated control of industrial cooperative robots.
This network deploys a complete 5G system at the Budapest InfoPark Campus site, built from commercial 5G components provided by Ericsson. It features both standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) infrastructure, designed to support advanced research and innovation. The system includes g-NodeB-s and key network functions such as User Plane Function (UPF), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Network Repository Function (NRF), Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF), Policy Control Function (PCF), Unified Data Repository (UDR), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), and Unified Data Management (UDM).
It is operated as an indoor-outdoor testing environment, enabling seamless experimentation across diverse real-world scenarios. Among its core capabilities is network slicing, which allows the creation of multiple virtual networks within the same physical infrastructure, tailored to specific research or application requirements. Additionally, Network Function Virtualization (NFV) ensures scalability, adaptability, and future-proofing.
The operation of the network is supported through a joint research agreement with Magyar Telekom, and we use both mid-band and mmWave band radios.
With mmWave technology delivering ultra-fast speeds and edge computing reducing latency, this network is ideal for time-sensitive applications such as AR, VR, and IoT. The deployment also incorporates advanced cloud-native solutions, including PCC, PCG, LPG, CCRC, CCPC, CCDM, and CCSM, ensuring robust security, policy management, and seamless orchestration of network resources.
Research Cooperation in the Field of 5G/6G
Research Cooperation in the Field of 5G/6G
SAMBAS
SAMBAS
The SAMBAS project aims to improve the efficiency of future generation mobile Networks by joint optimization of mmWave radio hardware and communication protocols. The 5G Campus Ericsson-BME testbed serves as both benchmark for such measurements and a proving ground for the design of novel communication protocols.
Project period: 2022-2025
Arrowhead fPVN
Arrowhead fPVN
The Arrowhead fPVN project designs resilient and adaptive production value networks. Within this project the 5G Campus Ericsson-BME Network serves as a testbed for the industrial shop floor of the future. There is an implemented 5G IoT scenario in the 5G Campus Ericsson-BME testbed, consisting of cloud based, real time robotic control over 5G NR. This scenario is used both as provider of measurement-based data source for evaluation purposes and testing environment for the new protocols.
Project period: 2023-2026
DETERMINISTIC 6G
DETERMINISTIC 6G
Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) and Deterministic Networking (DetNet), while 5G has specified mechanisms for interworking with those standards. However, the available support of 5G in conjunction with TSN and DetNet is not sufficient for future end-to-end time-critical applications.
Project period: 2021-2024
6G SKY
6G SKY
Satellites and high-altitude platforms (HAPs) are being deployed in large numbers to provide connectivity to ground and aerial users. Besides, flying vehicles are becoming ubiquitous unprecedentedly in the sky as users in the sky, which require robust and reliable communication connectivity for their safe and secure operation.
Project period: 2022-2025
5G Demonstration Events
5G Demonstration Events
Real-time control of drones over 5G (in Hungarian)
Real-time control of drones over 5G (in Hungarian)
Presented at the opening event of 5G Campus Ericsson-BME Network
Combining machine vision & localization in the cloud
Combining machine vision & localization in the cloud
Presented at the Ericsson 2023 Innovation Days
Real-time control cooperating robots
Real-time control cooperating robots
Presented at the Ericsson 2021 R&D Innovation Days
AI based bird monitoring system (in Hungarian)
AI based bird monitoring system (in Hungarian)
Presented at the Hungarian AI Coalition Event in 2021
Agile industrial robots (in Hungarian)
Agile industrial robots (in Hungarian)
Presented at the opening event of 5G Campus Ericsson-BME Network
Real-time industrial robotics over 5G
Real-time industrial robotics over 5G
Presented at the opening event of 5G Campus Ericsson-BME Network
Cloud-based mobil robot navigation
Cloud-based mobil robot navigation
Presented at the Ericsson 2022 R&D Innovation Days
Teaching and Learning Activities
Teaching and Learning Activities
Student Works
Student Works
The 5G Campus Ericsson-BME Network is intensively used by our students as a research platform in their project laboratory and Thesis works. Below we enlist a selection of these works. For detailed info please contact us.
Creating an edge computing environment in a 5G mobile network (János Angyal, 2024)
Evaluation of Object Tracking Algorithms in Image Processing for Autonomous Vehicles (Márk Berecz, 2024)
AI Based Pedestrian and Biker Detection in City Traffic (Kristóf Kapui, 2024)
Analisys of Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial cellular mobile Networks (Dóra Szabó, 2024)
Building a Minidrone with Cloud Control (Tamás András Nagy, 2024)
Analysing Robot Arm Control Communication in ROS2 Environment (Zoltán Péntek, 2024)
Evaluation of an edge service environment (Bertalan Rácz, 2024)
Visualization Framework for Timing and Configuration Data of Scheduled Network Traffic (Marcell Sonkoly, 2024)
Data driven planning of 6G NTN networks (Zoltán Illés, 2023)
Performance and alarm monitoring in 5G mobile networks (Dominik Mentő, 2023)
Implementing cloud-control for complex robotic systems based on ROS2 (Dániel Rózsa, 2023)
Development of air quality measurement device (Máté Schmidt, 2023)
Blockchain-assisted federated learning in 5G-powered vehicular systems with smart resource management (Marcell Szabó, 2023)
Navigatin an Automated Guided Vehicle with 5G Cloud Network (Péter Szabó, 2023)
Evaluation of 5G Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications (URLLC) resource allocation schemes by simulation (Xi Tiansheng, 2023)
Performance analysis of low latency video streaming applications using remote access (Dániel Lengyel, 2021)
5G User Equipment for testing Industrial IoT projects (Dávid Parádi, 2021)
Analyzing 5G-based solutions for V2X communications (Norbert Tóth, 2021)
TDoA based indoor positioning over cellular 5G network (Zsófia Papp, 2021)
PhD Theses
PhD Theses
The PhD Theses prepared based on the research done in the 5G Campus Ericsson-BME Network:
Novel Latency Control Methods for Native Cloud Applications (János Czentye, 2025)
Cloud Acceleration Approaches for Latency-Sensitive Applications (Márk Szalay, 2024)
Optimization of 5G and Beyond Networks for Cost-and Energy-Efficiency (Abdulhalim Fayad, 2024)
Enhanced Power Management for Massive IoT (Husam Rajab, 2023)
Embedding and Batch-Scheduling Data Flow Graphs in Software Switches (Tamás Lévai, 2022)
Teaching and Courses
Teaching and Courses
The knowledge and research results acquired during the exploitation of our 5G Campus Ericsson-BME Network is also used in our teaching activities. Besides the core 5G technologies this research infrastructure offers a valuable insight into the related technologies of the cloud native architecture, the edge computing, the AI computation components, the real-time device (drones, industrial robots) controls, XR services and more. This vast experience enhances the course content offered to our students in subjects like:
5G Services and Architectures
Cloud Services supporting Intelligent Devices
Development of Cloud Native Network Functions
Container Based Cloud Services
Smart City Infocommunication Technologies
The 5G Campus Ericsson-BME Network, as well as our projects and experiments conducted within the framework of this testbed serve as a knowledge fountain for our regular knowledge dissemination workshops held to the experts of the Hungarian media regulatory authority. During these events we share our visions on the mobile networks evolution, the architectural and technological challanges and the novel services enabled by the new network features.
Publications
Publications
Please find below a list of papers published based on our research activities that leverage our 5G Campus Ericsson-BME Network:
A. Fayad, T. Cinkler and J. Rak, "Toward 6G Optical Fronthaul: A Survey on Enabling Technologies and Research Perspectives," in IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 629-666, Feb. 2025, doi: 10.1109/COMST.2024.3408090.
Toka, László, Endre Angelus Papp, Tibor Cinkler, István Gódor, and László Hévizi. "Dimensioning space-air-ground integrated networks for in-flight 6G slice orchestration." Vehicular Communications 51 (2025): 100866.
Fayad, Abdulhalim, István Pelle, Tibor Cinkler, and Balázs Sonkoly. "Harnessing Free Space Optics for Efficient 6G Fronthaul Networks: Challenges and Opportunities." Engineering Reports 7, no. 3 (2025): e70051.
Toka, Laszlo, Mark Konrad, Adrian Pekar, and Gergely Biczók. "Integrating the Skies for 6G: Techno-Economic Considerations of LEO, HAPS, and UAV Technologies." IEEE Communications Magazine 62, no. 11 (2024): 44-51.
Fayad, Abdulhalim, and Tibor Cinkler. "Power Consumption Optimization in 5G/6G mmWave Networks with User Multi-Connectivity." In 2024 IEEE Pacific Rim Conference on Communications, Computers and Signal Processing (PACRIM), pp. 1-6. IEEE, 2024.
Fayad, Abdulhalim, and Tibor Cinkler. "Energy-efficient joint user and power allocation in 5G millimeter wave networks: A genetic algorithm-based approach." IEEE Access 12 (2024): 20019-20030.
Fayad, Abdulhalim, Tibor Cinkler, and Jacek Rak. "5G/6G optical fronthaul modeling: Cost and energy consumption assessment." Journal of Optical Communications and Networking 15, no. 9 (2023): D33-D46.
Ozger, Mustafa, Istvan Godor, Anders Nordlow, Thomas Heyn, Sreekrishna Pandi, Ian Peterson, Alberto Viseras et al. "6G for connected sky: A vision for integrating terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks." In 2023 Joint European Conference on Networks and Communications & 6G Summit (EuCNC/6G Summit), pp. 711-716. IEEE, 2023.
Fayad, Abdulhalim, Tibor Cinkler, and Jacek Rak. "5G millimeter wave network optimization: Dual connectivity and power allocation strategy." IEEE Access 11 (2023): 82079-82094.
Alghazali, Qusay, Husam Al-Amaireh, and Tibor Cinkler. "Joint power and channel allocation for non-orthogonal multiple access in 5G networks and beyond." Sensors 23, no. 19 (2023): 8040.
Fayad, Abdulhalim, Manish Jha, Tibor Cinkler, and Jacek Rak. "Planning a cost-effective delay-constrained passive optical network for 5G fronthaul." In 2022 International Conference on Optical Network Design and Modeling (ONDM), pp. 1-6. IEEE, 2022.
Fayad, A., Cinkler, T., Rak, J., & Jha, M. (2022). Design of cost-efficient optical fronthaul for 5G/6G networks: An optimization perspective. Sensors, 22(23), 9394.
Fayad, Abdulhalim, and Tibor Cinkler. "Cost-effective delay-constrained optical fronthaul design for 5G and beyond." Infocommunications journal 14, no. 2 (2022): 19-27.
Toka, László, Márk Konrad, István Pelle, Balázs Sonkoly, Marcell Szabó, Bhavishya Sharma, Shashwat Kumar, Madhuri Annavazzala, Sree Teja Deekshitula, and A. Antony Franklin. "5g on the roads: Latency-optimized federated analytics in the vehicular edge." IEEE Access 11 (2023): 81737-81752.
Toka, László, Márk Konrád, István Pelle, Balázs Sonkoly, Marcell Szabó, Bhavishya Sharma, Shashwat Kumar, Madhuri Annavazzala, Sree Teja Deekshitula, and A. Antony Franklin. "5G on the roads: optimizing the latency of federated analysis in vehicular edge networks." In NOMS 2023-2023 IEEE/IFIP Network Operations and Management Symposium, pp. 1-5. IEEE, 2023.
Cinkler, Tibor, Kristóf Nagy, Csaba Simon, Rolland Vida, and Husam Rajab. "Two-phase sensor decision: Machine-learning for bird sound recognition and vineyard protection." IEEE Sensors Journal 22, no. 12 (2021): 11393-11404.
Pelle, István, Francesco Paolucci, Balázs Sonkoly, and Filippo Cugini. "Fast edge-to-edge serverless migration in 5g programmable packet-optical networks." In Optical Fiber Communication Conference, pp. W1E-1. Optica Publishing Group, 2021.
Németh, Balázs, Nuria Molner, Jorge Martín-Pérez, Carlos J. Bernardos, Antonio De la Oliva, and Balázs Sonkoly. "Delay and reliability-constrained VNF placement on mobile and volatile 5G infrastructure." IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing 21, no. 9 (2021): 3150-3162.
Sonkoly, Balázs, Róbert Szabó, Balázs Németh, János Czentye, Dávid Haja, Márk Szalay, János Dóka, Balázs P. Gerő, Dávid Jocha, and László Toka. "5G applications from vision to reality: Multi-operator orchestration." IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications 38, no. 7 (2020): 1401-1416.
Pelle, István, Francesco Paolucci, Balázs Sonkoly, and Filippo Cugini. "Telemetry-driven optical 5G serverless architecture for latency-sensitive edge computing." In 2020 Optical Fiber Communications Conference and Exhibition (OFC), pp. 1-3. IEEE, 2020.
Toka, Laszlo, Akos Recse, Mate Cserep, and Robert Szabo. "On the mediation price war of 5G providers." Electronics 9, no. 11 (2020): 1901.
Cinkler, Tibor, Akos Ladanyi, Jacek Rak, Christian Esposito, and Gianluca Rizzo. "Resilience of 5G mobile communication systems to massive disruptions." Guide to Disaster-Resilient Communication Networks (2020): 699-719.
Varga, Pal, Jozsef Peto, Attila Franko, David Balla, David Haja, Ferenc Janky, Gabor Soos, Daniel Ficzere, Markosz Maliosz, and Laszlo Toka. "5g support for industrial iot applications—challenges, solutions, and research gaps." Sensors 20, no. 3 (2020): 828.
Ladányi, Ákos, and Tibor Cinkler. "Resilience–throughput–power trade-off in future 5G photonic networks." Photonic Network Communications 37 (2019): 296-310.
Contact information
Contact information
For further details please contact Csaba Simon <simon@tmit.bme.bu>
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