The Path to 6G

How will 6G reshape defense communications and what will it take to move from promising research to real-world deployment?

The Path to 6G team explore how the defense industry is investing in 6G research, which technology areas are getting priority, and what defense organizations are really hoping the next generation of wireless can deliver.

With a vision for resilient, intelligent networks that can withstand jamming, reroute around disruption, support autonomous systems, and maintain connectivity across contested and remote environments, a lot will be asked of 6G. Priority research areas for defense already include integrated sensing and communications, tactical mesh networks, edge AI, dynamic spectrum management, and open architectures.

With this in mind, the team examine the trade-offs between military-first and civilian-led development models, the risks created by added complexity, and the technical, regulatory, integration, and procurement hurdles standing between today’s testbeds and tomorrow’s field-ready capabilities.

There’s a special guest on The Path to 6G this time round, as Steve and MJ are joined by Keysight Technologies 6G industry expert, Jessy Cavazos.

Back in December of 2025, Jessy made some bold predictions about the future of 6G. Everything from de-emphasizing speed as the headline metric, to pushing integrated sensing out of the lab, and rethinking how spectrum and energy get managed in next-gen networks.

Eight months on, with 6G standards work advancing and talk of 6G timelines already being brought forward, how does Jessy view those predictions now?

It’s a great conversation that spans integrated sensing, FR3 spectrum, AI-driven networks, emerging business models, industry collaboration, and the standards decisions shaping the path to 6G commercialization.

This time, The Path to 6G team set out to explore some fundamental questions around 6G spectrum.

The frequencies chosen for 6G will shape everything about the next generation of communications, from coverage and capacity to device design and deployment economics. So which spectrum bands are in play and why does this matter?

Steve and MJ discuss how finding new spectrum will present challenges, not least for how 6G will need to coexist with services that are already there. And then there’s the possibility of different spectrum decisions around the world, as well as the growing role of non-terrestrial networks to add to the discussion mix.

So, what will the eventual spectrum landscape mean for the 6G networks we plan to build? This, and more on The Path to 6G.

What will it take to make 6G a commercial reality? That’s the question The Path to 6G tackles this time round as MJ and Steve ponder the technologies, policies, and practical deployment strategies that are shaping the next generation of wireless communications.

Ahead of his appearance on a webinar with our friends over at RCR Wireless, Steve shares his thoughts on why AI-native networks, distributed edge computing, and integrated sensing and communications are emerging as the strongest long-term drivers of 6G. He and MJ also discuss the regulatory frameworks, spectrum policy, and global standards needed to support innovation without creating market fragmentation.

Their conversation also considers how telecom operators can evolve existing network infrastructure, overcome the challenges of dense small-cell deployments using hybrid backhaul architectures, and ensure sustainability remains a core design principle from the very beginning.

From digital twins and AI-driven optimization to energy-efficient network design, this episode highlights the key decisions that will determine how 6G is successfully deployed and scaled.

And if you’d like to hear more from Steve on building the 6G future, join him for the upcomingRCR Tech webinar by registering here.

https://pages.rcrtech.com/building-6g-webinar

The Path to 6G this time looks to the past to guide us to the future!

In 1776, America declared independence from one kind of legacy system, but as we race towards 2029, will 6G be declaring independence from another?

MJ and Steve take their cues from America’s recent semiquincentennial birthday to consider the path to 6G through the perspective of the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the founding of the American nation. What lessons for the future of 6G can be gleaned from the founding of a nation?

The team discuss what 6G could free us from, and what new rights we should expect from the network. What might the telecom industry need to declare independence from before 6G can become real? And what are the biggest technology validation challenges standing in the way of the 6G future?

There’s even fireworks – sort of – so join us in the pursuit of life, liberty, and 6G, on this week’s Path to 6G.

The Path to 6G this week leads to China as, fresh from speaking at MWC Shanghai, Steve shares his thoughts with MJ about robots and embodied AI, the token economy, 6G experimentation and innovation, and sore feet!

The GSMA’s Shanghai event continues to grow in popularity to showcase the bleeding edge innovation coming out of China, but what did it reveal about the future of advanced networks? Steve and MJ discuss how AI monetization emerged as a central theme at the event, with the token economy reframing how operators deliver network value, improve compute efficiency, and build new economics for AI at scale. They also look at how China’s networks are rapidly shifting beyond connectivity to support mobile AI and new commercial models. 

And of course, 6G momentum is accelerating, so where is China prioritizing innovation? Plus, with embodied AI and robotics moving from showcase concepts to practical use cases, what do these developments reveal about a future world where networks and robotics help power entirely new forms of digital and physical interaction. 

All this and more on The Path to 6G.

There are plenty of flashy headlines about what 6G will bring, but for this episode The Path to 6G team consider some of the potentially overlooked capabilities that could quietly shape what 6G becomes.

MJ and Steve explore why identity may need to move beyond the SIM as networks connect not just people and phones, but also robots, sensors, software workloads, vehicles, and even autonomous AI agents making decisions on the network. They contemplate network time as a service and why ultra-precise synchronization could become a critical capability for future industries, as well as throwing resilience into the mix and considering whether future networks should be designed to degrade gracefully when things go wrong.

It’s time to consider the “invisible user experience of 6G”, and the idea that some of the most powerful and sticky network experiences may be among the ones that users barely notice. 

As a spectacular summer of World Cup soccer approaches, The Path to 6G team take a look at some of the network technology that will share the world’s biggest sporting tournament with fans across the globe.

With 16 host stadiums across Canada, Mexico and the USA, the tournament is unprecedented in its scale and will serve as the ultimate proving ground for modern connectivity, driven by private 5G networks and network slicing. This will be key to unlocking new in-person fan experiences for those in the stadiums, while empowering broadcasters to rely on untethered wireless cameras to deliver flawless, high-quality live broadcasting to billions of fans watching worldwide. And all without competing for bandwidth.

Steve and MJ are joined again by service assurance expert Ross Cassan, to dive into how this technological leap is becoming the pivotal catalyst for operators to monetize their 5G and future 6G investments. 

The Path to 6G takes MJ and Steve to the cloud this time round to consider how if 6G is evolving into a cloud and AI native distributed computing fabric, what must we do to create value now while safely building the foundations for tomorrow's monetization? 

It's not just about faster radios or more bandwidth. It's about networks becoming intelligent, programmable platforms that can sense, compute, automate, and assure services across devices, edge, cloud, space, industry ecosystems, and a whole lot more.

To help MJ and Steve navigate this topic, they're joined by Spirent telecom cloud expert Bill Clark. Together, they explore how the pioneering cloud-native infrastructure test and benchmarking solutions of today are helping service providers accelerate the rollout of their 5G standalone and advanced networks, and also laying the foundations for a rapidly approaching 6G. 

MJ and Steve are joined by Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) expert Jeremy Bennington to explore how non-terrestrial networks (NTN) are shaping the path to 6G, focusing on direct-to-device (D2D) satellite communications and PNT.

They discuss how LEO satellites are enabling coverage expansion, resilience, and new telecom services, while highlighting challenges like spectrum interference, device limitations, and service continuity.

The trio delve deeper into space to talk about the rising threat of GNSS spoofing and jamming that's driving demand for resilient PNT, signal authentication, and AI-driven detection.

With LEO-based PNT emerging as a complementary solution, NTN is set to become a foundational layer for global connectivity, security, and next-generation telecom innovation.

#telecoms #space #GNSS #LEO

This time on The Path to 6G, MJ and Steve look at how AI is reshaping the telecom industry and ask the big questions about where the real value will be created.

Joined by Spirent special guest Anil Kollipara, together they explore what AI really means for telecom operators, where the biggest opportunities are emerging, and how leading test companies like Spirent and Keysight are thinking about the road ahead.

The conversation delves into the growing pressures that telcos face to define their unique role, as hyperscalers invest heavily in AI infrastructure and the industry explores everything from AI monetization and AI agents, to token-based business models. Plus, as their networks become more autonomous, telcos must also demonstrate that trust, assurance, and effective guardrails are just as important as innovation itself.

This time on The Path to 6G, Steve and MJ explore the rise of the 5G experience economy—and why telecom monetization now depends on delivering differentiated customer experiences, not just speed. 

From 5G Standalone and 5G Advanced to network slicing, fixed wireless access, and AI-driven services, the team break down how operators are unlocking new revenue streams. This includes how cloud-native cores, service assurance, and targeted segmentation are transforming telecom business models. 

Plus, they explore how today’s 5G innovations are laying the groundwork for 6G monetization strategies. 

Turning 5G investments into real growth is all about the experience economy. That's the big change. 

Fresh from the excitement of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, The Path to 6G hosts MJ and Steve are joined by network service assurance expert Ross Cassan to unpack the news from the world’s biggest telco trade show and what it means for the telecoms industry.

Among other things, the team reflect on the fact that AI was everywhere, that Apple hit the MWC show floor for the first time, and why the big Barcelona 6G announcements that kicked off the week are so significant.

Welcome to The Path to 6G! In this first episode, hosts MJ and Steve take a look at where the telecom industry stands with 5G Standalone and how momentum is building towards 5G-Advanced.

From network slicing at global sporting events to the rise of RedCap and eRedCap for IoT and smart cities, we unpack the technologies that operators are monetizing today — and what’s coming next.

We also dive into early 6G standardization efforts, AI-native architectures, and why 6G will launch as standalone from day one.

If you want a clear, insider’s perspective on the telecom transition from 5G to 6G, this is the place to start.