Leading Operator Call for Seamless Shift to 6G

An alliance of mobile operators, including Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, Orange, MTN, and Telefonica, called on the standards body 3GPP to put the necessary frameworks in place to ensure 6G technology is an operational and societal success. The Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGMN), on behalf of the operators, stated it had presented a unified 6G vision to 3GPP, advocating for the critical need for harmonized global standards as it prepares for setting the scope for Release 20.

In its 6G Key Messages – An Operator View publication, NGMN argued that standards should be built upon the features and capabilities introduced with 5G and create value through new services, delivering benefits to users and operators. To that end, 6G must demonstrate clear, tangible benefits with a realistic techno-economic framework network architecture to meet MNOs' criteria for modularity, simplicity, openness, operational simplification, compatibility, and interoperability, while delivering economic and social sustainability, said NGMN.

The latest rallying cry consolidates messages from a previous NGMN publication published in 2023, with industry heavyweights stressing the transition to 6G should be evolutionary but not force a complete hardware refresh. It further acknowledged fresh radio equipment will be required to deploy new frequency bands, but the evolution towards 6G in existing bands should primarily occur through software upgrades.

Laurent Leboucher, chairman of the NGMN Alliance board and Orange Group CTO and EVP for Networks, insisted the move to 6G should be seamless, fully compatible with 5G, and propelled by continuous software innovation. “The industry must move beyond synchronized hardware/software ‘G’ cycle and embrace decoupled roadmaps,” he added.