5G Smart Communities - Works

CEF funding support is expected to accelerate the take-up of 5G connectivity for the provision of innovative services and contribute to a wider deployment and take up of 5G at the same time. Such services may help reboot the overall economy after the COVID crisis, as well as support the transition towards the smart provision of services in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal. Such 5G enabled innovation can include:

• IoT infrastructure and community services that require a flexible, low-latency, reliable, high-user-density connectivity infrastructure, e.g. through a combination of fibre and wireless connectivity (5G, small cells, and Wi-Fi) that is IPv6 enabled.
• 5G-based use cases that leverage new 5G characteristics, e.g.: higher bandwidth and ubiquitous coverage (eMBB), ultra-low latency (uRLLC), massive machine-type (mMTC).
• Process and data innovations that require connectivity infrastructures with advanced service features, e.g. quality of service guarantees enabled by edge computing facilities and support by network slicing.
• Projects that rely, where relevant, on open, disaggregated and interoperable technology solutions (such as OpenRAN for example) and contribute to the emergence of a European ecosystem of 5G suppliers.

In addition to the support for local innovation, the EU added value is also based on the dissemination of the experience gained through the early adoption of concrete 5G use cases. This will contribute to gaining insights and increasing maturity for 5G-based applications in different sectors. The projects are expected to contribute to the dedicated Programme Support Action (see Section 5.3 of the Work Programme).

The key performance indicator for this call will include the number of new users of the 5G networks and the number of 5G-based use cases enabled as a result of CEF Digital support.

Beneficiaries will be asked to share their knowledge, achievements and lessons learnt, in order to demonstrate to citizens the benefits of 5G by providing concrete examples of 5G based use cases for public authorities or SGI/SEGEI providers.

It is expected that proposals funded under this call will stimulate a larger deployment and take up of 5G use-cases. This could also possibly be supported under the RRF, replicating best practices. The synergy with RRF could encompass wider “local digital transition projects” in which the 5G connectivity would be (co-)funded under this call and the remaining modules that are not covered by this call (e.g. the deployment of local computing, data or other digital capacities and solutions) would be funded under RRF or other programmes.

The aim of this call is to support the early deployment of 5G-based systems that enable use cases for certain socio-economic drivers (SEDs). Within the context of this call, the targeted SEDs are public authorities exercising public powers and public or private entities entrusted with the operation of SGIs or SGEIs.

For guidance on whether a service is of general interest or general economic interest, please consult the Call document. The ultimate responsibility to define what constitutes a Service of General Interest lays with Member States.

Projects funded under this call are expected to:

a) Deploy 5G infrastructures capable of delivering leading-edge connectivity with characteristics (such as Gigabit performance, high-user-density, ubiquitous coverage, capacity to connect IoT devices, low latency and reliability) that are capable of supporting innovative ways of improving the provision of public services and SGIs or SGEIs;

b) Where necessary, bundle the deployed 5G networks with a cloud-to-edge middleware stack capable of supporting the data-intensive use cases and applications required by the involved SEDs.

The call aims to support 5G best practices beacons in different sectors that can serve as templates for possible replication with other resources or under other programmes (in particular RRF).

These projects are indirectly expected to demonstrate the potential capabilities and benefits of 5G networks and therefore stimulate the wider and faster deployment and take up of 5G across Europe. Projects will also contribute to provide the foundation for the development of “lead markets” for 5G and cloud-to-edge systems, eventually relying on technologies and standards developed under other EU programmes, in particular the Digital Europe Programme and Horizon Europe.

The indicative size of the CEF contribution to the financing of each project is expected to be in the range of EUR 300.000 to EUR 4 million. This range of project size is only indicative as the budget depends on the scope and objectives of the proposal and is based on the costs needed to achieve them.

The CEF funding will cover the deployment of 5G infrastructure elements required to implement innovative use-cases by public authorities and SGI/SGEI providers. Proposals funded under the call are expected to rely on performance characteristics of the 5G technology that are indispensable to implement one or more use cases allowing the concerned public authority or SGI/SGEI provider(s) to deliver new or more efficient services.

The deployment or upgrade of backhaul and access networks connecting the premises where the 5G-supported project will be deployed with public electronic communication networks is not the main focus of this call. In principle, a Gigabit access network connecting the project should either already exist or be planned in parallel to the project. However the proposal may include a limited investment to complete or upgrade such access (indicatively in the order of 10% of the total eligible costs). In addition, if necessary for the implementation of the use case, the project can include the interconnection to federated cloud and edge computing infrastructures9. In both cases, such investments must be necessary to support the implementation of the 5G project related to the activity of the pubic authority of the SGI/SGEI provider concerned by the proposal. In addition within this maximum 10% threshold, CEF funding cannot exceed the net cost incurred for the deployment of the backhaul/access network or cloud/edge computing infrastructure linked to the 5G use case in question.

Proposals will need to justify the availability of the necessary co-funding for the 5G connectivity deployment as well as the financing of any costs linked to the execution of the whole 5G use case project (e.g. end-user devices, sensors, connectivity subscriptions etc.) that are not covered under this call.

Projects will also need to demonstrate that the infrastructure will be operated in a forward-looking and future-proof way based on state-of-the art protocols and standards, such as IPv6.

The beneficiary will be the operator(s) that will deploy the 5G network and provide the connectivity service required by one or more public authorities or SGI/SGEI providers. The later will be the end-users of the connectivity supported by the project and (despite the fact that they are not in charge of deploying the network infrastructure) should jointly apply to this call with the above-mentioned operator(s), describing (as part of Application Form Part B) the 5G innovative use case(s) they plan to develop. The description of such use case must contain all the elements demonstrating its viability, notably a reference to the availability of services and equipment required on top of the connectivity.

The project must be located in an area where no 5G network able to provide the quality of service needed by the supported use case is commercially available. For this reason, the description of the 5G innovative use case mentioned in the previous paragraph must be accompanied by a statement declaring that, after verification with each of the mobile network operators active in the area, the required 5G connectivity is not commercially available at the end-user location.

Furthermore, each proposal should be supported by local and/or regional authorities in the area where the deployment is foreseen to take place. This support may take the form of administrative letters, letters of intent, memoranda of understanding, or similar support documents and include an indication that no plans for other type of public support for the roll out of a 5G network is known to the abovementioned authorities.

Please consult the Call document for more information on the scope, including digital security requirements.