Telecommunication networks have become a critical infrastructure for economic growth and social prosperity. Current networks will be unable to face the future demands and their increasingly diverse set of services, users, applications and requirements what is forcing network operators to transform them. At the centre of this network transformation is the broad-scale deployment of Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and Software-Defined Networking (SDN). 5GTANGO puts forth the flexible programmability of 5G networks with i) a NFV-enabled Service Development Kit (SDK), ii) a Store with advanced validation and verification mechanisms for VNFs/Network Services qualification (including 3rd party contributions) and iii) a modular Service Platform in order to bridge the gap between business needs and network operational management systems. We propose an integrated vendor-independent platform where the outcome of the development kit, that is a packaged NFV forwarding graph, is automatically tested and validated in the Store for their posterior deployment with a customizable orchestrator compatible with common existing Virtual Infrastructure Managers (VIM) and SDN controllers in the market. This end-to-end ecosystem for the agile development and deployment of services realises an extended NFV DevOps model between service developers, telecom operators and vertical industries, increasing operational efficiency, facilitating the implementation and validation of new services and accelerating the adoption of NFV technologies. 5GTANGO system will be demonstrated in two vertical pilots: advanced Manufacturing and immersive Media. 5GTANGO will actively promote collaboration and try to influence the SDOs most relevant for the project such as ETSI NFV or IETF, as well as the key open source initiatives such as OSM and Open-O. It is also 5GTANGO’s ambition to make key contributions to the 5G-PPP Programme, the targeted KPIs and commits to work with its peer 5G-PPP projects.

So far, the Internet of Things (IoT) is narrowband with no latency constraints. A wider range of applications is envisioned for industrial manufacturing, augmented reality and autonomous cars. It makes use of artificial intelligence, where compute functions will be offloaded from devices into the cloud. Accordingly, future IoT will need wireless links with high data rates, low latency and reliable connectivity despite the limited radio spectrum. Connected lighting is an interesting infrastructure for IoT services because it enables visible light communication (VLC), i.e. a wireless communication using unlicensed light spectrum. LED luminaires have enough modulation bandwidth for high data rates and each luminaire can be used as a wireless access point. Networked VLC-enhanced luminaires will add new features to build a wireless network for the IoT. ELIOT will start from existing prototypes and develop the support for IoT services. The project will integrate the lighting infrastructure with VLC and add positioning, multicast communications and enhanced security. ELIOT will demonstrate the new infrastructure in real environments at TRL ≥6 and mobile IoT devices at TRL ≥ 4. Main project goals are to provide an open reference architecture for the support of IoT in the lighting infrastructure, build consensus reflecting the best architectural choices, contribute to standardization of lighting and telecom infrastructures in IEC, IETF, IEEE and ITU-T and provide a roadmap for IoT until 2022 and beyond. ELIOT brings together Europe’s key players that cover the whole value chain, i.e. OSRAM, Philips Lighting and Tridonic as major component and luminaire makers, Maxlinear as chipmaker, NOKIA as a leading network vendor and integrator, BMW, Weidmüller and Thyssen Krupp working on industrial IoT, Deutsche Telekom and KPN as innovative operators, together with Fraunhofer HHI as a leading research institute and two top universities from Eindhoven and Oxford.