FBK (part of which is the Center of Research and Telecommunication Experimentation for NETworked communities-CNET) is an international research consortium based in northern Italy and founded in 2003 by some of the most prestigious universities and research centers in Europe (Technion, University of Trento), which employs around 75 people. By bringing together major academic institutions, corporations and research actors from around the world, CNET is engaged in combining highest quality research, addressing telecommunications and advanced services challenges, with experimentation on a unique real-life testing and experimentation infrastructure in Trentino, Italy. CNET’s objective is to sponsor the highest quality research and innovation, and help convert talent and human capital into patents and start-ups for promoting European high-tech competitiveness, with the aim of building a global platform of scientific collaboration and experimentation in communications-driven technologies and applications.
CNET has long experience with European collaborative projects, within FP6 and FP7, and has a proven track record with project coordination, acting as Coordinator of around 10 concluded research projects. CNET also participates to the H2020 program with the recently funded LEIT ICT projects (VITAL, ACINO, UNCAP) and the EU-JAPAN H2020 project iKAAS. CNET is the coordinator of ACINO and VITAL projects. CNET is also currently participating in three 5G-PPP projects, namely H2020 COHERENT, H2020 SESAME, and H2020 5G-CrossHaul and has developed a key technological enabler 5G networks, such as the 5G-EmPOWER Mobile Network Operating System, the first Network Operating System for heterogeneous Wi-Fi and LTE networks.
CNET has experience of collaborating in more than 40 community-funded research projects. Converting research outputs to intellectual property and identifying opportunities for technology transfer has long been the motto for its involvement in R&D projects, and exploitation and impact generation is a key attribute for CNET which is well knit into its R&D strategy. Recently, it has set-up three promising spin-offs (U-Hopper, eXrade, Intelinks) that are now capitalising on previous research efforts in community-funded projects. CNET has developed very strong collaborations, via bilateral projects, with major industrial stakeholders (Cisco Systems, Orange, Siemens, Ericsson, etc.) and has developed several patents that have been successfully transferred to the industry. The center has significant collaborations with leading institutions in the US (MIT and Georgia Tech), China (Tsinghua and BUPT), South Africa (SAP/Meraka), Israel (Technion, Holon Institute of Technology) and India (Indian Institute of Science, IIT-Mumbai).