Oulu, the Silicon Valley of Finland has a long history in developing generations of mobile networks and various cellular radio technologies in ecosystems where the public and private sectors are working closely together. Oulu as a leader in 5G development is now planning ahead for the future with an extensive 6G program. To understand more of what is happening with 6G in Oulu, we interviewed Heikki Huhmo, Liaison Manager of Business Oulu.

Oulu is one of the first cities in the world to be testing and researching the potential of 6G, because it has the right background, with a history over 50 years in leading wireless technologies. “Oulu has built environments that companies and research organisations can take advantage of testing and piloting, utilising the city as a platform,” Huhmo explains.

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​In early 2018, the University of Oulu in Finland announced the funding of their 6G Flagship program. The program focuses on future challenges in wireless systems, such as novel radio and network technologies, artificially intelligent distributed computation methods, and the development of applications based on these technologies and methods. 

 The goal of the 6G research is to create an active national and international network among future 6G players and to guide the regulation of the telecommunications industry nationally and internationally. The target is that 6G networks will pave the way for next generation services and applications, such as virtual reality and augmented reality.

Today, the city of Oulu is enabling, supporting and facilitating various trials in the city. Some of the trials are initiated by the city needs, where the City of Oulu invites companies to provide their solutions, and then the City of Oulu opens various environments, such as private 5G networks that allow companies to develop these devices in their environment. “Oulu’s responsibility is to provide an environment for the research community, so they can come and try the practical use-cases. This provides benefits for the city as well”, Huhmo summarizes.

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