Spectrum: Laying the Groundwork for 6G in North America

March 20, 2026

Mark Cudak (Nokia), Aleksander Damnjanovic (Qualcomm), and Alexander Sayenko (Apple, Inc.)

The Next G Alliance Spectrum Working Group has been laying the groundwork for 6G in North America.

A Solid Record of Accomplishment

Among the Working Group’s achievements thus far are establishing a unified terminology framework for frequency ranges, assessing existing spectrum utilization, and quantifying specific spectrum needs for 6G, considering North American market characteristics such as larger inter-site distances. The Group has also explored various spectrum access mechanisms, recognizing the necessity for future radio technologies to operate across exclusively licensed, shared licensed, and unlicensed spectrum to expand availability.

Shaping the 6G Spectrum Future

The year 2025 saw significant developments from both industry and government in shaping the future of spectrum. At the 2025 National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Spectrum Policy Symposium in September, NTIA Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information Arielle Roth highlighted the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA), which restored the FCC’s auction authority and mandated the creation of the largest spectrum pipeline in U.S. history. This legislative effort aims to reallocate 800 MHz of spectrum for commercial use, emphasizing the critical need for clear and decisive action to get more spectrum into the marketplace for 6G development. This push for U.S. 6G leadership was further underscored in December when the White House issued a National Security Presidential Memorandum, “Winning the 6G Race,” directing NTIA actions regarding spectrum and accelerating the evaluation schedule.

Future Activities of the NGA Spectrum Working Group

In 2026, the Spectrum Working Group is continuing to actively capture its members’ views on 6G spectrum opportunities. Currently, it is drafting a white paper that will outline recommendations for spectrum access, management, and policy. This work builds upon the foundation laid by the OBBBA and the U.S. government’s National Spectrum Strategy, aiming to ensure that the U.S. remains at the forefront of wireless technology leadership and that sufficient spectrum is available to support the advanced capabilities of 6G networks.

The Group’s ongoing efforts are clearly aligned with the broader goal of making informed spectrum decisions to create the 6G future. This includes considering IMT-2030 frequency bands, addressing global regulatory trends, the continuous bandwidth considerations, timeline, and the integration of satellite connectivity to ensure comprehensive coverage and support for advanced use cases.

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About the Authors

Mark Cudak (Nokia)

Chair at NGA Spectrum Working Group

Mark Cudak is a Nokia Bell Labs Fellow and a Research Team Leader in the Physical Layer Group within Nokia Technology & Standards, based in Chicago, IL. He possesses over 30 years of experience in telecommunications, specializing in spectrum research, radio research, prototyping, and standardization. Mark is an experienced telecommunications standards delegate, having served in 3GPP RAN, IEEE 802, ITU Working Party 5D, and the Next G Alliance, including several leadership roles. Currently, he leads a team researching waveform, channel coding, and sensing technologies for 6G. Prior to joining Nokia in 2011, Mark spent 20 years at Motorola, where he contributed to a variety of wireless data systems, including APCO 25 and cellular standards. During his tenure at Motorola, he was recognized as a Motorola Dan Noble Fellow. Mark has authored 35 IEEE publications across conferences, journals, and magazines, and holds over 70 issued patents. He earned his B.S. and M.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).

Aleksander Damnjanovic

Vice Chair at NGA Spectrum Working Group

Aleksandar is a 6G Spectrum Research Lead with Qualcomm Wireless Research and brings more than 25 years of professional experience working on research, development, prototyping and standardization of cellular technologies (i.e., 3G, 4G, 5G, and now 6G) Wi-Fi and UWB. He has contributed to 3GPP standardization activities in RAN WG 1 and RAN WG 2, ETSI BRAN, served as Chair of MFA-Alliance for Private Networks Radio Working Group and contributed to O-RAN Alliance, and CEPT. He is a holder of more than 650 US granted patents with more than 2,100 external citations in the field of wireless communications. His research interests include interference management, medium access, shared spectrum, network MIMO, private and relay networks, cooperative communications, jamming resilience, digital twin, and ISAC for spectrum bands targeted for 6G deployments. Aleksandar holds Doctor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from The George Washington University, with a minor concentration in Computer Science and Operations Research.

Alexander Sayenko

Vice Chair at NGA Spectrum Working Group

Alexander Sayenko is a Wireless Architect at Apple participating in standardization and regulatory bodies including 3GPP, ITU-R and ETSI. He has more than 20 years of experience in wireless system research, development and standardisation. His involvement in wireless technologies started with the IEEE 802.16 WiMAX project. Later, his work focused on activities led by the 3GPP standardisation body, where Alexander was a rapporteur of several 3GPP specifications and led a number of 3GPP WIs. For 5G/NR technology, he made significant contributions to system wide aspects that include not only the 3GPP RAN WGs, but also CT WG1 (networks access) and SA WG (system architecture). Alexander’s most recent focus has been on 3GPP 5G/NR spectrum-related activities for which he led several WIs. For instance he led the 3GPP spectrum WI to enable the satellite L-/S-band into the 3GPP core specifications, and made a number of contributions to other satellite spectrum WIs such as satellite L-band and the S-band for the US market. Alexander holds BSc in Information and Control Systems, MSc in Mobile Computing and PhD in Telecommunications.