In 2013, the EIT ICT Labs project “Fanning out Testbeds as a Service for the EIT ICT Labs” (FanTaaStic) explored best practices of testbed federation and brokering mechanisms, performed a gap analysis for operating and offering federated testbeds on a commercial basis, investigated applicable business models and worked out an operational concept for implementation.

Based on the developed operational model and business model, the testbed federation and brokering facility is set up at the EIT ICT Co-Location Center in Berlin and put into operation in 2014. Subsequently SMEs are given access to the facility for testing products and solutions in state-of-the-art, cutting edge testbed environments.

Together with the Future Internet Research and Experimentation Initiative (FIRE) of the European Commission, EIT ICT Labs  is promoting the concept of experimentally-driven research, working to create a dynamic, sustainable, large-scale European experimental facility. 

Providing a framework in which European research on Future Internet can flourish and Europe can be established as a key player in defining sustainable Future Internet concepts globally is the ultimate aim. 

Sustainability and the best use of developed infrastructures are highly critical for both FIRE and the ICT Labs.  By now, many FIRE facilities have reached a level of maturity that allows them to be opened up to a wider use creating a strong momentum for implementing pioneering sustainability models in practice.

Lately the collaboration between FIRE and ICT Labs has widened and reached more formal level of discussion between the respective parties. It is a mutually understood goal to tighten and systemize the collaboration, to share vision building, community empowerment and best development and use of facilities, be it for research, education or innovation purposes.

An EIT ICT co-location center based experimental facility, brokering across multiple distributed tested infrastructures will be set up. Selected testbeds will be brought to market, opening them up for new user segments, particularly attracting SMEs to conduct product development and testing.