Critical infrastructure, such as telecommunications networks, requires GNSS based time reference to enable their proper functioning over a large area. Especially emerging telecommunications applications such as 5G or Time Division Duplex require a highly accurate and secure timing distribution. Failure of the time distribution service can lead to failure of critical infrastructure, resulting in blackouts or failure of the telecommunications network with damages exceeding the billion € for whole economies as well as severe safety and security risks for the general public. From the very nature of the GNSS systems, they are vulnerable to external, independent, and arbitrary radio interferences, jamming and spoofing. Consequently, the time synchronization may be interrupted or falsified, causing the real danger of time reference outage or alteration of the telecom network time reference. Therefore, finding approaches for detecting and mitigating radio interferences, jamming, and spoofing attacks is a critical issue for the security of telecom networks. Moreover, critical infrastructure requires safety layers, ensuring protection and integrity in the communication between nodes and terminals in the network (e.g., time synchronisation at the base stations of the telecommunications networks). The emerging technology of blockchain-based verification, identification and coding has been proven multiple times to be the future of information exchange applications. In the presented initiative, the "Critical infrastructure High accuracy and Robustness increase Integrated Synchronization Solutions – CHRISS will demonstrate first on the market, an integrated into one device, Galileo based timing distribution and synchronization solution enabling increased resilience to GNSS signals interference, jamming, spoofing and cyber-attack on fiber-optics distribution layer resulting in increased time distribution service availability, accuracy and reliability.

5G!Pagoda represents the next evolution step in softwarized networks as supported by NFV, SDN and aimed at by the 5G network evolution. The top objectives of 5G!Pagoda are i) the development of a scalable 5G slicing architecture towards supporting specialized network slices composed on multi-vendor network functions, through the development of ii) a scalable network slice management and orchestration framework for distributed, edge dominated network infrastructures, and convergent software functionality for iii) lightweight control plane and iv) data plane programmability and their integration, customization, composition and run-time management towards different markets in Europe and Japan. 5G!Pagoda will develop a coherent architecture enabling research and standardization coordination between Europe and Japan. The proposed developments integrate with a common SDN/NFV based architecture and will additionally provide punctual and highly important developments of the software network architecture. The developments address the next steps of the evolution beyond the immediate NFV standardization and developments, enabling the graceful integration within end-to-end network slices of various highly customized software components, remotely controlling the data path, with specific network function flexibility and network function placement support and easy to manage through a convergent set of scalable orchestration APIs. Besides the technological aspects, 5G!Pagoda will develop a coherent proof of concept with two playground nodes, one in Japan and one in Europe, using a uniform network orchestration and a set of in-slice software features enabling the transparent exchange of knowledge and practical implemented components for dynamic deployment and execution of virtual network functions and applications. The testbed will allow practical demonstration of the functionality and will enable the development of an aligned 5G-oriented standardization roadmap for Japan and Europe