UNITY-6G

Deployment of 6G NPNs address specific needs tailored to specific use cases. Such indicative example includes industrial automation applications in an Industry 4.0 scenario. By incorporating multi-Radio Access Technologies (RATs) within 6G RAN, NPN deployments aim to deal with increased application diversity with demanding requirements in terms of deterministic low latency and high reliability. Establishing a unified method to manage and control multi-technologies within 6G RAN will enable seamless and end-to-end network optimisation to support demanding industrial automation applications. This can be done by exploiting the O-RAN framework from the cellular domain that is already standardised for 5G technologies, while 6G standardisation activities are ongoing. Utilising O-RAN architecture to manage and control IEEE 802.11 network domain will enable unified management and control plane for both (cellular and IEEE 802.11) domains. By leveraging O-RAN framework architecture, private network operators can cross-optimise both radio access technologies (cellular and IEEE 802.11) with the aim of supporting end-to-end time sensitive communication. In addition, O-RAN enabled IEEE 802.11 APs can be managed directly by dApps (real-time)/xApps (near real-time)/rApps (non-real-time) running on top of respective unified radio intelligent controllers (RICs).