6G in Spain: Initiatives Shaping the Future of Connectivity

This is a time marked by cooperation among stakeholders seeking to establish their positions ahead of the next major technological transition. In this context, Catalonia with 6GLabNet and 6GStarLab, Andalusia with the PANDORA Project, and Madrid with Multi X and ENABLE-6G, stand out as particularly active hubs within the Spanish ecosystem.

With these initiatives, 6G is emerging, beyond the next generation of mobile technology, as a new layer of intelligent connectivity where the network ceases to be a transport channel and becomes a system capable of managing, optimizing, and protecting traffic in real time. Beyond the hype surrounding 6G, the real progress is taking place in test infrastructures, network capabilities, and increasingly intelligent management models.

Organizations that understand this shift from a network architecture perspective will be in a better position to harness its full potential when commercial deployment arrives.

On April 8, the Polytechnic University of Catalonia - BarcelonaTech (UPC) unveiled 6GLabNet, an experimental infrastructure designed to test and validate next-generation communications technologies and services under real-world conditions.

The network connects the Barcelona and Castelldefels campuses via a hybrid fixed-mobile infrastructure spanning over 30 kilometers, supported by 32 kilometers of fiber-optic cable and a 5G+ mobile network designed to facilitate the transition to 6G. The initiative provides a key insight for any company: 6G does not begin with a new mobile plan, but rather with experimental networks, artificial intelligence integrated into the infrastructure, and environments where products, services, and applications can be validated before they reach the market.

The Catalan project stands out for several reasons. According to the UPC, 6GLabNet integrates artificial intelligence into the network itself to automate its configuration and management, and incorporates outdoor base stations operating at millimeter-wave frequencies—a key capability for testing next-generation technologies in real-world scenarios.

This enables work on use cases such as:

• autonomous and assisted driving,
• remote drone piloting
• smart agriculture applications
• advanced robotics
• Industry 4.0 solutions
• augmented reality experiences and real-time video.

All these scenarios require low latency, high capacity, and a network that is far more intelligent and adaptable than current ones.

Beyond the technical aspects, 6GLabNet is particularly significant for its focus on technology transfer. The infrastructure is open to researchers, companies, and public administrations to validate prototypes, test services before large-scale deployment, and reduce the risks associated with adopting new connectivity technologies.

The launch of 6GLabNet confirms that the debate on 6G in Spain extends beyond the academic sphere and has begun to translate into tangible assets: test beds, validation environments, and networks capable of testing solutions outside the laboratory, with the aim of shortening development times, reducing risks, and preparing future applications before they reach the market.

This development aligns with Europe’s approach to the 6G race prior to commercial deployment. In other words, it is not about racing ahead, but about gaining a technological edge: developing talent, generating intellectual property, participating in the definition of standards, and building an industrial base capable of competing in strategic areas such as network artificial intelligence, energy efficiency, integrated sensing, and advanced cybersecurity.

In addition to the UPC project in Catalonia, in Andalusia, Vodafone and the University of Málaga completed the deployment of an advanced 6G-5G mobile network for research in 2026, as part of the PANDORA Project. The infrastructure is designed to validate technologies under real-world conditions and strengthen the university’s scientific and technical capabilities in next-generation mobile networks.

Madrid also holds a prominent position on this map. The Carlos III University of Madrid coordinates MultiX, a European project aimed at advancing toward networks capable of observing the environment and interacting with it in real time through multisensory perception.

Along the same lines, the ENABLE-6G initiative, led by IMDEA Networks together with Telefónica, NEC, and BluSpecs, is significant. This project, launched in 2023, focuses on challenges such as energy efficiency, privacy, and the integration of communication and sensing.

Another significant project is 6GStarLab, launched by the private foundation i2CAT in collaboration with Open Cosmos. In this case, the focus is on non-terrestrial networks: a 6G laboratory in low Earth orbit designed to validate technologies that integrate terrestrial and space-based infrastructure.

These initiatives demonstrate how a network is taking shape in Spain that brings together university laboratories, public funding programs, operators, research centers, and technology companies.

All these projects share the following commonalities:

• A focus on real-world market transfer, reducing risks and accelerating innovation.
• Alignment with the European strategy on technological sovereignty and digital transformation.
   

These projects also point toward a model in which the network will become increasingly autonomous, distributed, and critical to business operations. A reality that will require new capabilities in management, visibility, and centralized control.

Public policies implemented in recent years have facilitated the development of these projects. In 2023, the Spanish government launched the ÚNICO I+D 6G 2022 call for proposals, funding 48 projects and allocating nearly 49 million euros to strengthen the research ecosystem for the next generation of mobile technology.

In 2024, it expanded this commitment with 62 million euros for 43 projects under the ÚNICO I+D 6G 2023 call for proposals.

Spain is not leading the European 6G race on its own. However, through these calls for proposals, it is fostering the development—in anticipation of the expected commercial rollout—of a significant foundation within the EU ecosystem, thanks to the combination of public funding, research capacity, and experimental infrastructure.

For the business community, the key message is that 6G will not merely be a technological evolution, but a shift in how we understand the network. Organizations will transition from managing connectivity infrastructures to operating complex, distributed, and highly dynamic environments, where multiple locations, devices, clouds, and applications must function as a single system.

This opens up opportunities in areas such as industrial communications, advanced automation, connected sensors, edge computing, autonomous systems, extended reality, and low-latency critical services.

In this context, the ability to centrally orchestrate, secure, and optimize the network will be just as important as connectivity itself. A new technological leap that, combined with European Union regulatory requirements such as NIS2, will reinforce the need for SD-WAN technologies —software-defined networks— such as SAIWALL Secure SD-WAN, capable of orchestrating everything that happens on the network without creating dependencies on major operators.