Ericsson Conducts First Live 6G Trial

While the Texas trial is a first, Ericsson is one of many racing toward 6G. Competitors include Nokia, which leads Europe's Hexa-X research initiative, and Samsung, which has its own research centers and has partnered with universities like the University of Texas. National governments in the U.S., China, Japan, and South Korea are also funding major 6G initiatives. The performance leap from 5G to 6G is expected to be substantial, with projected speeds of up to 100 Gbps or even 1 terabit per second (Tbps) compared to 5G's 10 Gbps peak. Latency is also targeted for a thousand-fold improvement, aiming for one-microsecond response times, which is critical for applications like remote surgery and autonomous vehicle coordination. To achieve these speeds, 6G will utilize new, higher frequency bands. Much of the current research focuses on the "upper mid-band" spectrum (7 to 24 GHz) for initial deployments and sub-terahertz bands (roughly 90 to 300 GHz) for extreme capacity in localized areas. This trial represents an early step in a long development cycle. The global standards body 3GPP, which also developed 5G, has begun the multi-year process of creating 6G specifications. The first standards are not expected to be finalized until around 2028, with initial commercial deployments anticipated near 2030. Beyond faster speeds, 6G aims to integrate communications with sensing, allowing the network to gather real-time data about its surroundings for precise positioning and environmental awareness. This capability, combined with AI-native architecture, will enable advanced applications like real-time holographic communication and city-scale "digital twins" for complex simulations.