6G-Ready Infrastructure and Network Design Training Course

Foundations: The 6G Vision and Technical Drivers

• Emerging 6G Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and service classes (sensing, throughput, reliability, latency).
• Primary technology enablers and anticipated timelines.
• Impact on network infrastructure and architectural design.

Transport Network Evolution: Fronthaul, Midhaul, and Backhaul

• Requirements for deterministic tunnels and ultra-low-latency transport.
• Fronthaul solutions (split options, RoE, CPRI/eCPRI) and bandwidth scaling.
• Enhancements in optical transport and fiber densification strategies.

Cloud-Native RAN, vRAN, and Open RAN Integration

• Containerized RAN principles and cloud-native network functions.
• vRAN design patterns, hardware acceleration, and the trade-offs of disaggregation.
• Open RAN architecture, open interfaces, and integration complexities.

Edge and Distributed Compute Design

• Edge placement strategies for Multi-Access Edge Compute (MEC) and low-latency services.
• Resource orchestration, capacity planning, and multi-access edge computing.
• Integration of central cloud, edge, and on-premises resources.

Timing, Synchronization, and Determinism

• Precision timing requirements for 6G use cases.
• Considerations and hardening strategies for PTP, SyncE, and GNSS.
• Architectures ensuring deterministic packet transport and redundancy.

Spectrum, RF, and Antenna System Readiness

• mmWave and THz propagation challenges and their impact on cell planning.
• Antenna system advancements, including massive MIMO evolution and active arrays.
• Site power/thermal planning, backhaul provisioning, and densification.

Integrated Sensing and Communication Infrastructure

• Co-design of sensing-capable radios and network-aware sensing pipelines.
• Edge processing, timing, and data fusion for real-time sensing.
• Applications in industrial sensing, environmental monitoring, and positioning.

Network Automation, AI-Native Management, and Orchestration

• Model-driven operations, closed-loop automation, and intent-based networking.
• AI/ML applications for resource optimization, fault detection, and traffic prediction.
• CI/CD practices for network functions and automated validation.

Security, Resilience, and Trustworthy Infrastructure

• Threat models addressing highly distributed 6G topologies.
• Supply-chain considerations for hardware and software.
• Planning for disaster recovery, redundancy, and operational resilience.

Testing, Validation, and Digital Twin Approaches

• Methodologies for verifying throughput, jitter, and latency SLAs.
• Leveraging digital twins for capacity forecasting, what-if analysis, and planning.
• Interoperability testing with multi-vendor stacks and legacy 5G systems.

Migration Strategies and Roadmaps

• Coexistence strategies and phased upgrade paths to minimize disruption.
• ROI considerations, cost estimation, and building the business case.
• Stakeholder engagement, KPI definition, and pilot planning for rollout.

Workshop: Design Review and Readiness Planning

• Hands-on architectural exercises addressing real-world deployment scenarios.
• Gap analysis and a prioritized remediation plan for infrastructure readiness.
• Presentation of proposed roadmaps and risk mitigation measures.

Summary and Next Steps