Blockchains in 6g : A Standardized Approach to Permissioned Distributed Ledgers

Based on work done within ETSI, this comprehensive guide dives deep into the heart of blockchains and their imminent intersection with 6G. Whether you're a tech enthusiast or an industry expert, this book promises to enlighten, engage, and inspire, drawing you into the exciting intersection of 6G and blockchains.

Part I - Blockchain Enablers: Embark on a foundational journey through blockchains, unraveling their basic principles and complex mechanics. From understanding the rudiments of blockchains to exploring the nuances of smart contracts, this section elucidates the pivotal aspects that make blockchains tick. Learn about the necessity for scalability, interoperability, and the crucial role of permissioned distributed ledgers.

Part II - Blockchain Ecosystem: Delve into the underpinnings that form the blockchain ecosystem. This segment demystifies the governance and technical standards that guide blockchains and touches upon the alliances formed in its name. As an essential addition, it delves into the regulatory landscape and the critical R&D projects pushing blockchain boundaries.

Part III - Blockchain Standards: Setting a benchmark for quality and reliability, this part deciphers the ETSI standards work governing blockchains. Understand the governance of permissioned distributed ledger (PDL) applications, explore reference architectures, and comprehend the role of smart contracts. Data management in a distributed setup and the intricacies of offline operations are neatly detailed, followed by a deep dive into the challenges and solutions for ledger interoperability.

Part IV - Blockchains in 6G: The last part of the book bridges the vast world of blockchains with the frontier of 6G telecommunication systems. Commencing with an introduction to the predecessors of 6G, it then charts the course for blockchains' role in 6G data sharing and the radio access network, as well as the emerging topic of the metaverse.

Dr. Mischa Dohler is currently VP Emerging Technologies at Ericsson Inc. in Silicon Valley, working on cutting-edge topics of 6G, Metaverse, XR, Quantum and Blockchain. He serves on the Technical Advisory Committee of the FCC and on the Spectrum Advisory Board of Ofcom. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), and a Distinguished Member of Harvard Square Leaders Excellence. He is a serial entrepreneur with 5 companies; a composer and pianist with 5 albums on Spotify/iTunes; and is fluent in several languages. He is a frequent keynote, panel and tutorial speaker, and has received numerous awards. He has pioneered several research fields, contributed to numerous wireless broadband, IoT/M2M and cyber security standards, holds a dozen patents, organized and chaired numerous conferences, was the Editor-in-Chief of two journals, has more than 300 highly-cited publications, and authored several books. He is a Top-1% Cited Innovator across all science fields globally. He was Professor in Wireless Communications at King’s College London and Director of the Centre for Telecommunications Research from 2013–2021, driving cross-disciplinary research and innovation in technology, sciences and arts. He is the Cofounder and former CTO of the IoT-pioneering company Worldsensing, cofounder and former CTO of the AI-driven satellite company SiriusInsight.AI, and cofounder of the sustainability company Movingbeans. He also worked as a Senior Researcher at Orange/France Telecom from 2005–2008.

Dr. Diego R. Lopez joined Telefónica in 2011 as a Senior Technology Expert and is currently in charge of the Technology Exploration activities within the GCTIO Unit. Before joining Telefónica he spent some years in the academic sector, dedicated to research on network services, and was appointed member of the High-Level Expert Group on Scientific Data Infrastructures by the European Commission. Diego is currently focused on applied research in network infrastructures, with a special emphasis on virtualization, data-driven management, new architectures, and security. Diego acted as chair of the ETSI ISG on Permissioned Distributed Ledgers from its start until the end of its second term, and is currently chair of ETSI ISG ZSM on network service automation, and of the Network Operator Council ETSI ISG on network function virtualization.

Dr. Chonggang Wang is currently a Principal Engineer with InterDigital Communications. He has more than 20 years of experience in the fields of wireless communications, networking, and computing, including research, development, and standardization. His current research interests include future wireless systems, blockchain and distributed ledger technologies, decentralized and pervasive intelligence, and quantum internet. He participates in industry standardization activities with ETSI, IETF/IRTF, 3GPP, oneM2M, and IEEE. He is Vice Chair of ETIS ISG on Permissioned Distributed Ledgers (PDL) and a member of NextG Alliance Research Council. He is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Internet of Things Journal and is currently the Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Network – The Magazine of Global Internetworking. He is a Fellow of the IEEE for his contributions to internet of things enabling technologies.