6G technology is expected to usher in the next wave of digital economic growth, as well as drive far-reaching societal shifts in sustainability, digital equality, trust, and quality of life. To help turn this potential into reality, ATIS’ Next G Alliance (NGA) Technology Working Group (TWG) is identifying and coordinating high impact 6G research in component technologies, radio technologies, AI/ML, network architecture and topology evolution, OA&M and service enablement, as well as security/trustworthiness.

Since the Working Group’s inception, there has been overwhelming participation from the private sector, academia, and government officials. Thus far, the Working Group’s accomplishments are many, including defining the specific technologies needed to fulfill the vision set forth in the NGA’s National 6G Roadmap — and to advance North American leadership in the 6G future.

Bridging Academic and Commercial Knowledge

To bridge the insights of forward-looking academic research with practical 6G commercialization knowledge, the TWG established the Distinguished Speaker series. In this forum, academic visionaries and industry experts have in-depth exchanges over a wide range of topics relevant to the technology aspects of the 6G future. These include “Joint Communications and Sensing: Measurement and Modeling for Next G” as well as “Active Learning for Communications and Sensing.”

Publications Mapping the 6G Technology Future

The TWG published numerous technology reports to provide guidance for the federal government and private sector to invest in the most relevant areas for the 6G future. The initial TWG effort surveyed the overall technological landscape that had the potential to contribute to 6G. The 6G Technologies survey identified 44 technologies expected to influence 6G.  Since the NGA’s role is not to design 6G, but to pave the way for future standards work, the report’s focus was on the promises and research challenges in each of these technologies. This survey was followed by reports on the identified issues. One key area that is expected to be different between 5G and 6G is the integration of communications and compute. The TWG published in-depth insights into this topic in its 6G Technologies for Wide Area Cloud Evolution report.  The report investigates merging cloud and mobile architectures and how to handle the demands of more mobile and dynamic computing and data access. 

6G will likely be associated with new radio technologies made possible by advances in processing power and fabrication.  The TWG report 6G Radio Technology Part I: Basic Radio Technologies addresses fundamental advances in radio technology such as new coding schemes or challenges with higher frequency bands.  A second report covering additional radio technologies is in the works.

Finally, managing the complexity of a 6G system will be a major challenge. The TWG 6G Technology Management and Orchestration report explores the issues with managing a flexible and dynamic system.

Looking Toward the Future

As 3GPP standardization of 6G commences in 2025, the TWG will expand its 6G technology identification scope to include facilitation of early 6G technology proof-of-concept in North America. In the upcoming months, the TWG will publish a critical report on component technologies in sync with the goals of the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act, which addresses development of semiconductor infrastructure onshore. In addition, the TWG and other NGA working groups plan to scope U.S. 6G research centers that will define the unique North American 6G applications and requirements.