6G

Providing guidance and requirements related to design considerations and network architecture evolution

6G Guidance & Requirements

NGMN’S MAIN FOCUS IN 2025/26

Providing guidance and key requirements for design considerations and network architecture evolution

Operator-driven 6G requirements and alignment
Dialogue of MNOs, vendors and academic membership
Addressing industry challenges
Fostering consensus and forward-looking view
Defining clear guidance and requirements for 6G standardisation in 3GPP

This collaborative approach aims to streamline networks, improve efficiency and deliver clear customer value.

Programme Leads

Objectives

Deliver impactful 6G insights and guidance from an operator’s perspective to provide timely support to the industry. Play a key role in preventing the fragmentation of global 6G standards and the broader ecosystem, ensuring affordable and consistent deployments. Identify a set of high-level business drivers, including aspects of social responsibility and mobile network operator (MNO) operational needs.

Develop requirements with a strong focus on customer-centricity. Engage with various stakeholders, monitor external 6G developments, and facilitate timely bilateral exchanges with relevant external organizations. Identify and analyze relevant standards development organizations (SDOs) and industry bodies to maximize the impact of NGMN.

NGMN Work Programme

“NGMN’s 6G vision focuses on creating intelligent, sustainable, and user-centric networks that go beyond speed to deliver societal impact, operational efficiency, and future-ready innovation.”

Laurent Leboucher, Orange, Chairman of the NGMN Alliance Board

AI SURGE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON 6G

Project Leads

Objectives

Identifying AI-enabled service requirements and benefits, and their potential impact on 6G network architecture evolution.

Architecture Study: Agentic core vs. traditional 5G-SA: assessing the architectural change for AI ready network.
Network for AI and AI for Network: association between AI and end-to-end network infrastructure.
Impact of AI traffic on Network – AI traffic models considering end to end traffic including overall traffic.

6G ARCHITECTURE/MIGRATION OPTIONS

Project Leads

Objectives

This Project provides simplified architecture options and migration options for 6G.

Architecture Study: Agentic core vs. traditional 5G-SA: assessing the architectural change for AI ready network
Network for AI and AI for Network: association between AI and end-to-end network infrastructure
Impact of AI traffic on Network – AI traffic models considering end to end traffic including overall traffic

Let’s Build the Next Generation of Mobile Networks — Together

Join NGMN with your Organisation’s Expertise and Drive Global Innovation Forward.

6G Videos

6G with no Hardware changes

Significance of the 6G Postiiton Statement

Impact of the 6G Position Statement

NGMN’s Path from 4G to 6G

Publications

6G Key Messages - an Operator view 

June 2025

A harmonised global 6G standard is essential to ensure a smooth industry evolution, address societal needs, and support a healthy ecosystem. The rollout of 6G should avoid mandatory hardware replacement, instead focusing on software upgrades within existing frequency bands. New hardware should only be introduced where new frequencies make it necessary. Any new technologies must demonstrate clear benefits within a techno-economic framework, with a strong emphasis on spectrum and energy efficiency.

NGMN Radio Performance Assesment Framework

December 2024

Radio metrics such as spectral efficiency, TRS, TRP, and energy consumption should align with the ITU-R IMT-2020 specifications within the 3GPP standards. New RAN solutions must demonstrate clear performance improvements over the benchmarks set in 3GPP Release 18. This framework builds on lessons learned from the 5G Standalone rollout to ensure that assessments are both practical and well-informed.

6G Position Statement - An Operator View

September 2023

6G represents the graceful evolution of communication networks, building upon and going beyond the existing 5G ecosystem. Its rollout should avoid mandatory hardware replacement, instead prioritising software upgrades within existing frequency bands. New hardware should only be introduced when required for new frequency ranges. Key operational priorities include simplifying network architecture, reducing energy consumption, enabling automated and proactive operations, and ensuring a quantum-safe infrastructure.

6G Drivers and Vision

April 2021

NGMN’s perspective on 6G is shaped by three core drivers: generating societal and environmental benefits, enabling expanded and differentiated services with innovative user experiences, and meeting operational needs to create and deliver greater value.

Events

FYUZ 2025
03 November 2025

The AI-Native TELCO Forum
23 October 2025

International Bharat 6G Symposium
09-10 October, 2025

6G Forum
07 October 2025

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