The design of sixth-generation (6G) mobile networks has recently begun. The research, innovation, and co-creation laboratory 5TONIC, founded by the IMDEA Networks Institute—where its main headquarters are also located—and Telefonica, and of which such relevant entities in the development of 5G and 6G as Ericsson, Capgemini, Comscope, and Carlos III University of Madrid are also members, is playing a decisive role in the development of this new technological paradigm, leading several precursor projects of 6G technology. 5TONIC also develops cutting-edge research lines, having a significant presence in the SNS JU (Small Network and Services Joint Undertaking), a large-scale European public-private initiative for researching and developing advanced 5G and 6G technologies. However, to continue playing this role and ensure that Spain has a relevant role in research in this revolutionary field, it is essential to continue developing world-class experimental platforms that allow the evaluation and validation of new disruptive ideas and technologies in the field of 6G networks, such as the one hosted at IMDEA Networks/5TONIC, thus ensuring its practical viability. With the aim of creating this unique experimental platform, IMDEA Networks manages the 5TONIC laboratory node integrated into SLICES-RI (included in the ESFRI Roadmap 2021).

TEST-6G’s main objective is to extend the infrastructure and scientific and technological equipment that will allow 5TONIC, together with SLICES-RI, to address an experimentation infrastructure in advanced 5G and 6G in an integrated manner, offering a catalog of resources and services available to the research community, not only at the national level but also internationally. The project focuses on three fundamental technical areas: deterministic networks, the use of artificial intelligence in 6G mobile networks, and open virtualized and programmable networks, for which the acquisition of various equipment is proposed to build an experimental network infrastructure that supports these types of applications. The need to manage access to this infrastructure, define the experiments to be carried out, and obtain the results thereof is also considered, for which the acquisition of measurement equipment and support for the development of functionalities in the network are proposed.