Through two world wars, the creation of the Internet and the rise of the smartphone, the ITU has made communications work. Now the agency is focusing on 6G.
The South Korean operator is making a big bet on cloud, media and artificial intelligence as its telco unit struggles.
The Japanese operator said it would begin indoor trials before March 2023 and outdoor trials over the following 12 months.
Joe Kochan, a telecom veteran and former CEO of US Ignite, talks to Light Reading about his new role as the executive director at the National Spectrum Consortium (NSC), where he aims to promote stronger tech partnerships between government, academia and industry.
Sensing, deep learning and upgrades to massive MIMO and full duplex are emerging as some of the key technologies that will define 6G, experts say.
Another big investment round will net billions for governments and equipment vendors, while forcing operators to dig deep.
It says current spectrum won't be enough to meet all 6G capacity requirements, meaning spectrum ranges must open up in the sub-THz range, from 24-300GHz.
'We need to start charging for usage again,' said Kimberley Trommler, head of Thinknet 6G, during her keynote address to attendees of an online event focusing on 6G and environmental sustainability.
The creation of 6G will occur at industry level and in the 3GPP, not in government. But their decisions will impact the next generation's development.
T-Mobile is expected to be a key player in the auction of about 8,000 new, county-based overlay licenses of unassigned 2.5GHz midband spectrum.
Executives at the UK operators sound confident 6G will use the same underlying technology as 5G.
The mobile industry's giant shindig was back with 61,000 visitors, even if the big news stories had nothing to do with it.
Liren Chen, president and CEO of InterDigital, shares his perspective on advancements in 5G, and how his company is planning ahead for 6G and the metaverse.
The chair of the FCC discussed the importance of midband spectrum over mmWave spectrum in Barcelona, and said that the agency would auction 2.5GHz spectrum in July.
As Facebook demands network improvements, operators gathered at MWC weigh the impact of the metaverse and call for new business models.
6G remains in danger of fragmentation, according to one of China Mobile's top researchers.
The next generation of mobile technology faces a hard job to survive a geopolitical arms race, industry hype and growing telco unhappiness about the standards process.
Commercial deployments of 6G will begin in 2030, but it will take ten years to prepare for 6G, explains Nokia Bell Labs' Peter Vetter.
The mobile industry has routinely overpromised and underdelivered on the Gs. A different model looks desirable.
An association featuring top companies, government agencies and researchers in the North American wireless industry released its first comprehensive white paper dealing with 6G.
Phil McKinney, president and CEO of CableLabs, joins the Light Reading podcast to discuss where the cable industry is on the path to 10G and how CableLabs is stoking interest and innovation with its 10G Challenge.
They will work on aerial and space communication, holographic beamforming, 3D-connected intelligence in cybersecurity, microelectronics and photonics.
Keysight told the FCC it will design, develop, test and demonstrate 6G electronic test and measurement technologies at its indoor facilities. Keysight's tests will focus on spectrum bands between 275GHz and 330GHz.
Authorities in China have denounced a US 'clique' as battle lines form over the next generation of mobile technology.
Chips, human rights, 6G: What's ahead for Asia this year?
It hardly ever happens that the industry gets so many of the items on its wishlist granted by the government in one go - but 2021 turned out nice.
New skillsets are increasingly required, but telcos are also adopting new terminology that disguises need for skills such as NFV and SDN.
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit largely upheld FCC rules issued last year that open up a large swath of the 6 GHz band to unlicensed users, including Wi-Fi.
The last few days have seen senior Indian government officials, including the telecom minister, mention 6G on more than one occasion.
The analyst firm points to trends it says will be 'at the heart of regulatory activity' next year, including spectrum licensing, the digital divide and - yes - 6G.
India's homegrown 5Gi standard is likely to be included in release 17 of the international 3GPP 5G standards.
Boris Johnson's interventionist government backs away from issuing open RAN mandates after realizing the technology is far from ready.
If the company's technology lives up to its promise in a commercial setting, Cohere will be hard to resist or ignore.
A head scientist at the world's biggest operator says open RAN is 'not a matter of if, but when.'
China appears to be years behind in satellite technology as the US continues to launch new constellations.
Japan's SoftBank hopes to raise money for 'capital expenditures, research and development, business operations and other areas' in its High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) business.
Parliamentary committee wants lower caps than ones proposed by the European Council and European Commission.
On its website, Ericsson published a graphic that it said was 'the 3GPP's 5G evolution time plan.' It shows the global standards group potentially releasing '6G Basic' in 2027.
Reports suggest that the 3,000 towers used by Telenet could be flogged off for up to euro 600m.
'The metaverse is our future business model,' explains SK Telecom's Cho Ik-hwan. In reality, the metaverse will blow past the 5G industry on its way toward lining the pockets of big Internet companies.
6G is in danger of becoming politicized and over-hyped, Huawei's Eric Xu has warned.
Slowdown in China impacts Q2, but revenue from telecom equipment worldwide was still up for a fifth consecutive quarter.
Huawei Founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei tells staff that Huawei is seeking to lure foreign tech talent to China to lead in 6G and to dominate global standards.
"I think we have so much to deliver on 5G."
The latest round of earnings results has finally given us a glimpse into the state of 5G in Hong Kong.
T-Mobile's networking chief expects to profit from 5G fixed wireless access, rural expansions and a new focus on business customers. Also: 'I think 6G is many, many years away.'
Companies ranging from Verizon to Apple have been reluctant to talk at length about 6G. And that's what makes Mike Irizarry of UScellular so noteworthy: He's an outspoken proponent of 6G.
India's second-largest operator is fundraising – it's looking for investment from Google, while the board approves a $2.86 billion rights issue.
LG said its 6G connection traveled in the 155-175GHz band and used adaptive beamforming and high gain antenna switching technology. The test signals more momentum in the space beyond 5G.
The boss of the Swedish equipment maker is worried the West could lose a future battle between different mobile standards.
The Vodafone Idea crisis shows no sign of resolution. One option could be a merger with state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).
China Telecom makes Shanghai debut, China Mobile preps listing and China Unicom mulls spin-off and listing for a technology unit.
Huawei's business continues to reel under the pressure of US sanctions, its first-half numbers show.
Last week's telecom news highlights included some spectrum auction and siesta news from Spain, an update on how Verizon moved forward with a fabulous, free 5G phone promotion, and you'll find out what US city took a gamble on building a network that covered 65 square miles with broadband in just 45 days.
Ericsson reckons the in-vogue technology concept will be a 'fundamental' part of 6G, opening another Pandora's box for the mobile industry.
South Korean and Japanese operators sign MoU to explore new business applications for 5G and strengthen collaboration on 6G tech.
University of Texas launches [email protected], a research project in collaboration with AT&T, InterDigital, Nvidia, Qualcomm and Samsung.
Latest forecast report from SCF says a slight blip in 2020 to 2022, caused by lockdown, can't hold back overall growth for 2019 to 2026.
The road to 6G will be quite a ride - but one China Mobile exec is already warning of fragmentation.
Network resiliency is a difficult thing to achieve because wireless networks are typically spread across large geographies so there are many points where the network can fail.
Huawei retains its grip with a 36% share outside North America, almost equal to the combined share of Nokia, Ericsson and ZTE.
China aims to commercialize 6G by 2030, according to its leading 6G development body, the IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group, integrating mobile and satellite.
A decade ago, there was a debate involving LTE-Advanced, 4.5G and 4.9G. Today, the same debate is brewing around 5.5G, 5G-Advanced and, potentially, 6G.
Friday fun: The Informa Tech 5G 100 influencers lists needs an update. Let us know who should stay, who should go and who you think we're missing.
China's National Intellectual Property Administration has calculated that of 38,000 6G-related patent applications, more than 13,000 are from China.
Tareq Amin, group chief technology officer at Rakuten Mobile, discusses his company's open RAN deployments and the evolution of a new kind of mobile network.
Anand Shah, Verizon's director of technology strategy and architecture, joins the podcast to talk all about private networks.
The leaders of the US and Japan have agreed on a $4.5 billion 5G and 6G collaboration, but details of the plan are vague.
Amid noisy international 6G saber-rattling from Chinese, European and North American groups, the NGMN is warning that 'fragmentation is not forward looking or sustainable.'
The Chinese equipment giant questions the need for 6G and even 5G technology as protectionism looms and US sanctions force a strategic shift.
Fully half of LG's phone business was based in the US. As the company walks away from its 10% share in the US market, analysts expect Samsung, Motorola and TCL to capture that business.
Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Swiss cheesemakers kick up a 6G stink; BT extends Enjoy partnership; Deutsche Telekom tweaks climate-change targets.
Light Reading's Mike Dano says there are at least two big improvements coming with 6G.
Conflicting technology interests and geopolitical tension could thwart efforts to develop a global standard.
AT&T's Andre Fuetsch and Ericsson's Jan Soderstrom will lead the Next G Alliance's executive governing body. The group is working on 'achieving North American 6G wireless leadership.'
In a repeat of what happened last year, one of the show's biggest exhibitors has said it will not be attending.
The symposium will be moderated by Brown, along with Jim Hodges, chief analyst, Heavy Reading, and it will feature speakers from Swisscom, Anritsu, Red Hat, 5G Americas, Telus and more.
As demand for connectivity increases, it's time to begin defining the 6G standard, and understanding the benefits and challenges that 6G will present.
Vodafone formally announces intention to float European towerco spinout on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange by the end of March.
Apple's 6G hires would 'research and design next generation (6G) wireless communication systems' and 'participate in industry/academic forums passionate about 6G.'
Eric Schmidt thinks Auction 107 was a digital setback that America and its allies can ill-afford.
Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: BICS replaces CEO; Ericsson follows REINDEER; Telefonica enters Cloud Garden 2.0 with IBM and Red Hat.
Chinese supplier reportedly wants to start a 6G conversation with the government. Like it or not, claimed Huawei's corporate affairs guy in Australia, China will lead in 6G and - wait for it - 7G.
Fire up your 6G console and leap from the dreary surroundings of your London flat to the foodie heaven of Barcelona.
Verizon's CTO Kyle Malady said that the operator is working to enhance 5G, and that he currently sees no reason to begin focusing on what's next.
Vendor takes on 6G role, just as Finland looks set to pass a new 5G security law that could lock out certain vendors.
US operators like Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile are exploring replacing China's cheap handset manufacturers with Indian companies, as the trade war continues.
The government has cleared the Production Linked Incentive scheme supporting 4G, 5G, next-generation RAN, IoT access, enterprise and wireless equipment.
The first 5G phones from Apple and Google are barely out of the box, yet both companies have joined the Next G Alliance to 'advance North American mobile technology leadership in 6G.'
Singapore-based operator continues to feel the effects of the pandemic in H1 FY21, but sees signs of 'modest recovery.'
What should customers and the telecom industry expect as the industry starts preparing for its next generation?
The Internet 'bent but did not break,' research firm concludes.
Despite losing $1.3 billion in a tech stock buying spree, Masayoshi Son's conglomerate profits after big tech stakes and a Chinese startup's IPO.
Zoom agreed a settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission over complaints it misrepresented the security of its videoconferencing platform to users.
Optical security and performance products buoyed by strong 3D sensing demand star performer, field instrument recovery anticipated as 5G rollout accelerates.
South Korean telco KT Corp has recorded a sharp fall in operating profit in a quarterly result salvaged only by an accounting change.
South Korea mobile leader SK Telecom has posted a 44% spike in third-quarter earnings, driven once again by non-core businesses.
Chipset manufacturer said its investments in 5G 'are coming to fruition.'
Middle Eastern telco giant Zain expands its Kuwait and Saudi Arabia 5G coverage and unveils a data park to build cloud business.
Three Chinese operators steer a steady course in the first three quarters of the year with moderate revenue growth.
