The project is driven by the need to transform mobile networks in response to the growing demands of the fourth industrial revolution. Technologies such as the Internet of Everything (IoE), digital twins, and autonomous systems are generating massive volumes of mobile traffic, pushing existing radio access networks (RANs) to their limits. The project specifically targets the Next-Generation RAN (NG-RAN) infrastructure enhancement, with emphasis on integrating Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) nodes—an emerging paradigm expected to play a pivotal role in realizing cost-effective and flexible 6G rollouts. IRAM tackles two fundamental and interrelated challenges: the first is autonomous network planning and control, which removes the dependence on human-driven, static planning in dynamic, heterogeneous environments. The second is the problem of reliable mmWave backhauling, which is essential for sustaining high data rates and low latency in dense network topologies but remains fragile under blockage, mobility, and environmental variations.
IRAM situates itself within the broader strategic vision of digital sovereignty, energy-efficient networking, and sustainable infrastructure promoted by the European 6G roadmap. By developing self-managing radio architectures, the project supports key European goals in terms of digital inclusion, technological autonomy, energy efficiency and Ubiquitous connectivity. While not focused directly on social sciences or humanities, the project addresses societal inclusion and digital equity implicitly by enabling more scalable and affordable network access—key pillars in the broader socio-technical transformation driven by future 6G systems.
