6G Hardware Enablers for Cell Free Coherent
Communications and Sensing

6G-REFERENCE envisions a future where urban areas are equipped with sustainable solutions
that can cope with the ever-increasing traffic demands and population densification, while
providing disruptive capabilities like the materialization of the internet of sense.

6G-REFERENCE will:

DEVELOP

Develop integrated circuit and antenna component solutions, including dynamic frequency filtering and modulated radiation, to enable efficient spectrum coexistence schemes.

DEVELOP

Develop integrated circuit and antenna component solutions, including dynamic frequency filtering and modulated radiation, to enable efficient spectrum coexistence schemes.

DEPLOY

Deploy practical hardware enablers in terms of low complexity, cost and power consumption that could end up constituting a reference design for future 6G-distributed radios.

DEPLOY

Deploy practical hardware enablers in terms of low complexity, cost and power consumption that could end up constituting a reference design for future 6G-distributed radios.

Objectives

6G-REFERENCE will develop hardware enablers constituting a reference design of distributed
radios for a cell-free communication and sensing system operating in the 10-15 GHz range.

The project targets low complexity and low power, in other words, practical integrated circuits
(IC) and antenna systems for 6G applications. It aims at enabling new functionalities addressing D-MIMO communication scenarios but extended to support distributed sensing and accurate localization and positioning.

Objectives

6G-REFERENCE will develop hardware enablers constituting a reference design of distributed
radios for a cell-free communication and sensing system operating in the 10-15 GHz range.

The project targets low complexity and low power, in other words, practical integrated circuits
(IC) and antenna systems for 6G applications. It aims at enabling new functionalities addressing D-MIMO communication scenarios but extended to support distributed sensing and accurate localization and positioning.

Challenges

Accurate
synchronization
among distributed
radio units (cell-free
deployments)

Fronthaul data distribution

Integration of sensing capabilities

Low complexity/cost/
consumption radios

Coexistence with
other services

Methodology

Explore radio system
operation in the
10-15GHz range

Develop hardware
concepts and show
feasibility in CMOS

Use additive
manufacturing for
antenna arrays and
nanotechnology for
sensors

CTTC Presents 6G-REFERENCE in a Seminar at the Henry Royce Institute of Imperial College London

On Friday, 13 March 2026, the 6G-REFERENCE coordinator, Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (CTTC), offered a seminar at the Henry Royce Institute, hosted at the White City Campus of the Imperial College London (United Kingdom), in a session hosted by Dr. Peter Petrov, Principal Research Scientist at the Department of Materials and a Royce...

The 6G-REFERENCE Coordinator CTTC Showcases our Antenna Technologies at MWC Barcelona 2026

6G-REFERENCE took part in the Mobile World Congress 2026 (MWC26), held from 2-5 March 2026 at Fira Barcelona Gran Via in Barcelona (Spain), represented by our coordinator, Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (CTTC), which showcased our project and offered demonstrations of our antenna technologies at its exhibition booth throughout the four-day event. Recognised as...

Complementary Microelectronics Hardware Concepts: Highlights of the First 6G-REFERENCE Webinar Co-Organised with FirstTo6G

On the 29th of January 2026 we hosted the first 6G-REFERENCE webinar, a session co-organised with the FirstTo6G project, to speak about “Complementary Microelectronics Hardware Concepts” for one and a half hours. The webinar was a success, attended by a total of 61 participants who stayed until the end for the panel discussion. 6G-REFERENCE and FirstTo6G...

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