The NextGeneration EU-backed partnership ENABLE- 6G, dedicated to unlocking the potential of next-generation mobile networks, has officially concluded, marking a significant milestone in Europe’s journey towards 6G. Launched with the ambition of exploring and advancing technologies for future mobile connectivity, ENABLE- 6G brought together leading institutions and experts to develop critical capabilities in low-power communication, sensing, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), and privacy-preserving machine learning.

An international research collaboration between IMDEA Networks’ Internet Analytics Group, headed by Narseo Vallina-Rodriguez, Prof. Gunes Acar (Radboud University, NL), and Tim Vlummens (KU Leuven, Belgium), has recently uncovered a potential privacy abuse involving Meta and the Russian tech giant Yandex. They found that native Android apps – including Facebook, Instagram, and several Yandex apps such as Maps, Navi, Browser, and Search – silently listen on fixed local ports on mobile devices to de-anonymize users’ browsing habits without consent.

IMDEA Networks is leading the TUCAN6-CM project, an initiative funded by the Regional Government of Madrid that aims to transform next-generation mobile networks through the efficient integration of communication, computing, and sensing technologies to meet the major connectivity challenges of the future. This holistic approach places the project at the forefront of 6G research in Europe.

IMDEA Networks has contributed to the ECOMOME project, a research initiative focused on optimizing energy consumption in mobile networks. The project, which concluded recently, was funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation and the European Union’s NextGenerationEU/PRTR program and awarded under CHIST-ERA 2021 call. It addressed energy efficiency challenges across all components of mobile networks, from user devices to radio access and core networks.

IMDEA Networks has begun its participation in DISCO6G, an innovative project that will transform next-generation mobile networks, in collaboration with UC3M, UAM, and UPM and funded by the Madrid Regional Government. Its focus on Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) enables network infrastructures not only to transmit information but also to function as distributed real-time sensors. “DISCO6G represents a paradigm shift, as it turns the network into a system capable of detecting its environment while communicating, something crucial for critical applications in transport and healthcare,” explains Jesús Omar Lacruz, senior researcher at IMDEA Networks and principal investigator of the project at the institute.

IMDEA Networks is part of MultiX, a European scientific project involving 17 research centers and technology companies from 7 countries coordinated by Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), which aims to revolutionize future 6G communication networks by transforming their design and operation. By means of an innovative system that integrates multisensory perception, MultiX aims to make networks capable of intelligently observing the environment and interacting with it in real time. This innovation seeks to transform sectors as relevant as healthcare facilities or the autonomous vehicle industry.

The Regional Government of Madrid is strengthening its commitment to quantum communications with an investment of 16 million euros in research projects on quantum communications and cybersecurity within the framework of the International Year of Quantum Science and Technologies declared by UNESCO. Among the initiatives the regional government is promoting stands out MadQuantum-CM, which aims to expand the largest quantum communications network in Europe, MadQCI, positioning itself as a strategic initiative for the development of secure quantum communications in Europe.

A recent study titled “Gaming on the Edge: Performance Issues of Distributed Online Gaming”, published at the IFIP International Conference on Networking 2024, proposes an innovative model to enhance the experience of online gaming, particularly on mobile devices. Led by an international team of researchers—including Professors Marco Ajmone and Vincenzo Mancuso from IMDEA Networks—the study explores how edge computing can transform Gaming as a Service (GaaS) by significantly improving performance.

Edge artificial intelligence (AI) is enabling real-time data processing and decision-making directly on devices, reducing latency and bandwidth usage while enhancing privacy by minimizing data transmission to the cloud. However, its widespread adoption has faced significant technical obstacles. The DIME project, led by a research team at IMDEA Networks and coordinated by Joerg Widmer, Research Director, and Jaya Champati, Research Assistant Professor, concluded this year, achieving a critical breakthrough in overcoming these challenges. Its outcomes pave the way for faster, safer, and more sustainable edge artificial intelligence applications, with significant impact in key sectors such as healthcare, transportation, and smart cities.

The Innovative Training Networks (ITN) project “BANYAN: Big Data Analytics for Radio Access Networks,” funded by the European Union through the H2020-ICT-2019 program, has come to an end this year, leaving behind a series of milestones that mark innovations in the field of telecommunications. Led by Marco Fiore, Research Professor at IMDEA Networks, BANYAN has developed innovative tools for data-driven 5G Radio Access Networks (RAN), while also successfully training new PhD candidates specialized in this field.

IMDEA Networks, in collaboration with various partners, has successfully completed the TRUST aWARE project, an innovative initiative that has addressed the growing challenges of privacy and security in consumer-oriented software. This project, which has counted with the outstanding contribution of the Internet Analytics Group (IAG) of the Institute, focused on the issues of access to and use of sensitive personal data by mobile applications, often without users being aware of how their data is used, shared, or protected.

Advertisers systematically pay more to show online ads to women than to men, especially in highly developed nations, according to research from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) and IMDEA Networks. This gender-based price discrimination in digital marketing, known as the “pink tax,” contributes to increasing gender inequality, as women are charged more to access similar products and services.

Disinformation is a growing phenomenon on digital platforms, significantly impacting social, political, and economic events. It has long posed a threat to freedom and democracy. However, it is now even more pressing due to the speed at which campaigns spread through digital media. Researchers from IMDEA Networks, Cyprus University of Technology, and LSTECH ESPAÑA SL have developed the revolutionary HyperGraphDis algorithm, which enables the detection of disinformation on social media, helping to combat the proliferation of fake news.

The ORIGAMI (Optimized Resource Integration and Global Architecture for Mobile Infrastructure for 6G) project is now underway. The project, funded by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe program, will spearhead architectural innovations for the next generation of 6G mobile networks, to enable innovative applications, new business models, and substantial reductions in energy consumption.

ENLIGHT’EM, an Innovative Training Networks project funded by a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action, has ended in December 2023 marking a major milestone: contributing to design a new generation of wireless systems based on visible light communication (VLC) and on the low power consumption of light-emitting diodes (commonly known as LEDs) for challenging Internet of Things (IoT) scenarios.