Ericsson conducts first live 6G trial in US
Ericsson announced it has conducted the world's first live 6G trial in Texas, showcasing the technology's ability to power AI robotics and real-time video streaming. The demonstration used new 6G centimeter wave spectrum and a cloud-native infrastructure to support applications like cloud-hosted AI large language models.
The over-the-air trial was conducted at Ericsson's North American headquarters in Plano, Texas. It successfully validated key pre-standard 6G building blocks, including the radio hardware, software-defined air interfaces, and RAN Compute platforms. This demonstration utilized the centimetric wave (cmWave) spectrum, specifically the upper mid-band frequencies between 7 and 15 GHz. This range is considered essential for 6G as it offers a balance of high capacity and good signal propagation for wide-area coverage, a step beyond the primary bands used in 5G. While this trial is a significant milestone, the first commercial 6G networks are expected to launch around 2030. The global standards body 3GPP began the multi-year standardization process in 2024, with the first 6G specifications anticipated to be finalized by the end of 2028. Ericsson is building a 6G ecosystem with key technology partners. The company is working with Apple and MediaTek to develop and test 6G device prototypes and spectrum sharing solutions. Additionally, a partnership with Mistral AI is focused on integrating artificial intelligence into network R&D and operations. A core concept for 6G is Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC), which allows the network to sense its physical environment. In a separate proof-of-concept in Texas, Ericsson demonstrated this by using its network infrastructure to detect and track drones, a capability expected to be part of early 6G standards. This work is part of a global technology race, with nations like South Korea and the UAE also targeting early 6G pilot networks and launches. To guide this development, 10 countries, including the U.S., have signed a declaration of shared principles for 6G, emphasizing open, secure, and interoperable standards. The performance goals for 6G represent a massive leap over 5G, with projected speeds of up to 100 Gbps and latency below one millisecond. This will enable future applications like holographic communication and fully immersive extended reality (XR), which Ericsson is researching with the University of Texas.
