Finland has been at the forefront of wireless mobile technology for decades, ever since Nokia launched its first mobile phone in 1982. Building on this expertise and the power of interdisciplinary collaboration, Finland has recently laid the foundations for significant 6G development and positioned itself as a centre of pioneering research.

The world’s first large-scale 6G research program, 6G Flagship, was founded in Finland back in 2018. Finland also leads two European 6G flagship projects – Hexa-X and its successor Hexa-X-II – with Nokia being the project leader in both, and plays a significant role in other EU 6G research.

In May 2023, Finland signed a Joint Statement on Cooperation in Advanced Wireless Communications with the USA and has been actively building new international partnerships with other 6G stakeholders.

Today, research in Finland is working on a project that creates the essential 6G technological components, the tools, and the equipment to build a 6G test network, and develops chosen vertical applications for 6G to accelerate societal digitization.

Within the national innovation funding program 6G Bridge, Finland is calling for international system integrators and end-users to partner with Finnish 6G companies and researchers in exploring the opportunities of 6G technology. By supporting the research by funding programs Finland aims to attract international investments, strengthen the key capabilities in 5G/6G and foster testing and experimentation facilities in 6G.

Pekka Rantala, Head of the 6G Bridge program at Business Finland highlights the imperative for this initiative: "As the digital transformation accelerates, cooperation across borders is crucial to unlock the full potential of 6G technologies. We are on a good run, but to succeed we need international collaboration. We invite research organizations and system integrators to join hands with Finland's vibrant ecosystems to pool knowledge, share resources, and drive innovation that benefits societies around the world."

Finland’s 6G in a nutshell

6G Bridge – Business Finland-funded national program focusing on 6G Advanced and 6G. Runtime 2022-2026, 130 MEUR of committed national funding. www.businessfinland.fi/en/6gbridge

6G Finland – The active coalition of Finnish 6G R&D organizations incl. Nokia Bell Labs. www.6gfinland.fi/

6G Flagship – Research Council of Finland-funded flagship research program for 6G with 300 MEUR funding for 2018–2026. www.6gflagship.com

Finland at Mobile World Congress 2024

Finland hosts a Country Pavilion at Mobile World Congress 2024, with 20 SMEs participating along with three 6G research institutes: Aalto University, University of Oulu and VTT (Technical Research Centre of Finland). The country will highlight some of the use cases and solutions that its partners have developed, such as smart cities, autonomous vehicles, remote healthcare, and industrial metaverse. These are some of the examples of how 6G technology can transform the world and create new value for businesses and society.

The entire list of participants at the Finland Country Pavilion includes:

Aavamobile Pepperl+Fuchs, Convergentia, Creanord, Cumucore, Efore Telecom, Enhancell, Fusionlayer, Hamina Wireless, Infiniteq Systems, Lastbot, Mentura Group, Netradar, Noccela, Orbis Systems, Radiopark, SeeTrue Technologies, Treon, Verkotan, Visidon, Wirepas, Aalto University, Oulu University, VTT and Business Oulu and Business Finland