6GStarLab, the first European 6G space laboratory, at MWC Barcelona 2026

Under the slogan ‘Bringing the 6G Ecosystem to Zero Gravity’, i2CAT attended MWC Barcelona 2026 to make the 6GStarLab, Europe’s first 6G research satellite in low Earth orbit, available to the research and tech ecosystem.

From 2 to 5 March, the i2CAT team was at the Generalitat de Catalunya pavilion within MWC Barcelona 2026. In this 20th edition of the world-class congress, our objective was clear: to enable both SMEs, large corporations and research centres to lead the next generation of connectivity without relying on external technologies, using an infrastructure designed and manufactured entirely in Catalonia.

“Km 0” research to achieve technological sovereignty

The 6GStarLab is not just a technological milestone; it is an open laboratory designed to democratise access to space. Through this low Earth orbit (LEO) testbed, we offer the industry a real-world environment to validate critical technologies that will define the coming decade.

Catalogue of services and experiments

At this MWC, we are presenting a range of possibilities so you can take your innovation to the next level:

• Validation of 6G protocols: experimenting with new physical and link layers in a real orbital environment.
• Space Edge Computing: tests in-orbit data processing to reduce latency in your applications.
• Laser communications: verifies the efficiency of the space-to-ground-to-space optical link for massive and secure data exchange.

The quantum era is closer

At the ground station that will control the 6GStarLab experiments, located in Móra la Nova, we characterise parameters such as turbulence and cloud cover to map the optical link. With this model, in i2CAT’s quantum communications laboratory at our Pier01 headquarters in Barcelona, we can simulate the atmosphere and design protocols to exchange quantum keys as efficiently as possible.

i2CAT’s activities at MWC 2026

Our spin-off, Volum Technologies, landed at 4YFN to present its real-time holographic and volumetric communication solutions, designed to transform digital interaction. Visitors discovered how 3D technology enhances human connection and opens up new opportunities for the immersive industry.

As part of the third open call of the SNS 6G-SANDBOX initiative, the latest breakthrough in sustainable telecommunications was presented at the Keysight Technologies booth. Visitors experienced a video demonstration of the ECO-RAN project results, an AI-powered, O-RAN–ready solution designed to tackle one of the industry’s biggest challenges: energy consumption. Using real operator data, the solution optimises network management to reduce power usage without affecting service quality.

The RETECH programme projects were also present at the congress. RETECH is promoted by the Government of Catalonia and Spain’s Ministry for Digital Transformation and Civil Service with NextGenerationEU funds. The Generalitat de Catalunya pavilion showcased ROBOCAT, an assistive robot developed by the Institute of Robotics and Industrial Informatics of the UPC, which uses environmental sensors developed by our research staff.

The Spain Pavilion presented MULTIMINDED, a project in which we collaborate with SIRT to create an inclusive Digital Twin for all citizens.

Don’t miss any of the important moments! Check all the pictures on our Flickr page.