The FIRE (Future Internet Research and Experimentation) Initiative was launched at the beginning of 2007 as part of Framework Programme 7 (FP7). It builds on the "Situated and Autonomic Communications" Initiative and other internet-related projects funded under the Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) Programme, as well as on several projects launched as Research Networking Testbeds already operating under FP6.

FIRE has two related dimensions: on the one hand, promoting experimentally-driven long-term, visionary research on new paradigms and networking concepts and architectures for the future internet; and on the other hand, building large-scale experimentation facilities to support both medium- and long- term research on networks and services by gradually federating existing and new testbeds for emerging or future internet technologies.

FP7 ICT Call 2 gave birth to the first wave of FIRE projects, which will run until the second half of 2010. Four of the projects can be categorised as “facility projects” building experimental platforms for future internet researchers, whilst eight projects in the FIRE portfolio are research-focused and experimentally-driven.

It was agreed in the negotiation phase of the first wave of FIRE projects that a common FIRE co-ordination activity would be beneficial, leveraging the visibility of the projects’ outcome, exchanging valuable information between experimenting researchers and facility builders for the needs of the experimenters, bridging gaps, eliminating duplication, and providing knowledge of possible use cases where more than one facility would be needed in order to carry out satisfactory experimentation. This FIRE-wide co-ordination task has been carried out by FIREworks and will be taken over by FIRE STATION.