Finland’s Ministry of Defence awarded $6.5 million in government funding to boost the development of 6G technologies in one of the world’s most formidable environments.

The University of Oulu’s 6G Test Center will lead the Arctic 6G Systems Testing and Development Programme, a national project focused on testing and validating next-generation wireless systems operating in extreme Arctic climates and complex electromagnetic environments.

Nokia Defense is backing the venture, which forms part of a consortium with the university, Swedish operator Telia, and Finnish research body VTT. Nokia already has a substantial footprint in Oulu, Finland, where it holds a 3,000-strong campus focused on 5G radio and baseband research, development, and manufacturing. Dubbed its “new home of radio,” the Oulu site was launched last year with SDxCentral in attendance, where this title learned engineers had a 6G proof of concept in operation at around the 7 GHz frequency band.

Finland’s Arctic 6G push is part of the Programme for Northern Finland, a wider policy program for the region centered on the development of technology for military defense. The venture reflects the current geopolitical paradigm and frames national resilience as part of Nordic, European Union (EU), and NATO cooperation. The University of Oulu’s 6G Test Center is also a designated NATO Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) test center.

"This program enables us to take the work of our 6G Test Center a decisive step further, from laboratory research toward validation in real Arctic and operational conditions," Jukka Riekki, dean of the Univeristy of Oulu's Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, explained. "It strengthens Oulu's role as a national hub for resilient wireless technologies and creates a long-term capability that will serve the defense sector, public authorities, research organizations, and companies for years to come."

Three tenets to testing

The program revolves around three testing pillars. The first of these is a controlled laboratory and AI-enabled 5G/6G campus network for validating resilient wireless, open radio access network (RAN), edge AI, and hybrid terrestrial-satellite systems.

Second, the OuluZone provides an operational environment for testing deployable networks, edge computing, and uncrewed systems in realistic scenarios. Arctic field trials, meanwhile, will be deployed under contested-spectrum conditions, including activities compatible with NATO Innovation Range exercises.

The goal is to create a permanent national testing capability for Finland’s defense sector, authorities, researchers, and industry, strengthening technological self-sufficiency and security of supply. It also aims to give smaller enterprises a pathway from early-stage defense concepts through to operational validation and international defense supply chains. The Finnish Defence Forces help define scenarios and assess results, while the program supports Finland’s wider NATO and EU innovation participation.

A central focus of the venture is resilience by design in developing networks that can continue operating despite jamming, spoofing, physical damage, or other deliberate disruption rather than trying to retrofit protection after deployment.

The ministry has tasked the consortium with preserving Finland’s leadership in 5G and 6G, applying these technologies to military and comprehensive defense, and strengthening participation in NATO and EU work on future communications.