Like previous generations of international mobile telecommunications (IMT) recommendations, ITU-R defines the 6G requirements while 3GPP develops the standardized technology specifications that will be the project’s candidate to the ITU-R process. On this occasion, the target date for “Technology proposals for IMT-2030” has been defined by ITU-R to be early 2029, and resulting specifications (i.e. full system definition) are to be submitted by mid-2030 at the latest. 3GPP contributions to ITU-R WP 5D are made by ATIS – its North American partner standards organization

At it’s July 2025 meeting in Japan, ITU-R WP 5D generated an outline of a working document that, when completed, will specify the requirements, evaluation criteria and submission templates for the development of IMT-2030 recommendation(s) sometime in 2030. The structure of this working document is based on Report ITU-R M.2411, and the sections and contents of each section are to be further discussed.  This meeting also discussed 16 contributions on evaluation guidelines for IMT-2030 and that working document was updated

Meanwhile, 3GPP has concluded that two 3GPP Releases are needed to specify 6G: Release 20 for Studies and Release 21 for the normative work that will produce 6G specs. Technical studies on the 6G radio interface and 6G core network architecture within the RAN and SA Working Group to start in June 2025. Release 21 will be the official start of normative 6G work.

Juan Montojo, Qualcomm’s vice president of technical standards, told Light Reading  that all of today’s 3GPP 6G contributors are committed. “I can say I’m very confident that every player that comes to the 3GPP is a full believer in the value of having a single, global standard,” he told Light Reading. “I’ve not seen any exception, or any [other] indication.”  3GPP Release 20 lays an important foundation for 6G, said Montojo in a blog post.

Huawei had way more delegates attending 3GPP 5G sessions than any other company which raised concerns that the company might exert undue influence on the development of 3GPP 5G specs to its advantage. However, it has now become much harder for companies from a particular region to dominate proceedings, according to Montojo. “There are very recent decisions where working group officials cannot all come from the same region,” he explained. The system has also been changed so that companies with operations in multiple geographies, such as Huawei and Qualcomm, cannot claim to be from any region except that of their headquarters, Montojo said.

Future 6G Patents:

While the standardization process remains open to new entrants, the likelihood is that 6G’s ultimate patent owners will be drawn heavily from the ranks of today’s 5G network equipment vendors, chipmakers and smartphone companies that actively participate at 3GPP and ITU-R meetings. Several independent assessments forecast that Qualcomm and Huawei will likely remain at or near the top for the forthcoming 6G related patents,. In January, a LexisNexis study ranked Huawei first in 5G based on patent ownership and standards contributions.  A separate LexisNexis ranking called the Patent Asset Index, which attempted to score organizations based on the value of their patents, gave the top spot to Qualcomm.  In 2024, patent licensing accounted for only 14% of Qualcomm’s revenues but ~39% of its pre-tax earnings.

• Huawei (China): Huawei holds a significant share of 5G patents and is actively developing 6G technology, according to Williams IP Law. They are also a strong contributor to 5G technical standards.
• Qualcomm (US): Qualcomm is evolving its research from 4G and 5G towards 6G, holding a notable percentage of global 5G patents. They are also a major player in software-defined network solutions for 6G.
• Samsung (South Korea): Samsung is a prominent player in 5G patent ownership and is leading efforts in 6G standardization, including chairing the ITU-R 6G Vision Group. They are also investing heavily in terahertz communication technologies for 6G.
• Ericsson (Sweden): Ericsson is recognized for its strong 5G patent portfolio and contributions to technical standards. They are actively engaged in 6G research and development, including collaborations and investments in areas like network compute fabric and trustworthy systems.
• Nokia (Finland): Nokia is another key player in 5G patent ownership and a significant contributor to 5G technical standards. They identified key technologies for 6G early on and are actively testing and setting 6G standards through collaborations and research labs. 

Higher Spectrum Bands for 6G:

Much of the industry’s recent attention has been captured by the upper 6GHz band and the 7GHz to 15GHz range. Unfortunately, signals do not travel as far or penetrate walls and other obstacles as effectively in these higher bands. To compensate, 6G’s active antenna systems are set to include four times as many elements as today’s most advanced 5G technologies, according to Montojo.

“It is part of the requirement in 3GPP to reduce the site grid of the existing C-band,” he said. “You would not want to require a densification beyond the levels that we currently have but can actually guarantee reuse of the site grid of the C-band into these higher bands.” Some analysts, however, remain dubious. A so-called massive MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) radio loaded with an even bigger number of antennas is likely to be expensive, meaning the deployment of 6G for mass-market mobile services in higher spectrum bands might not be economically viable.

6G Core Network (3GPP only- no ITU involvement):

“The best-case scenario, and I would say default scenario, is that 6G radio will be connected to 6G core as basically the standards-based approach,” said Montojo. “What 6G core will be is TBD, but there is a lot of desire from the operator community to have a 6G core that is an evolved 5G core with some level, to be defined, of backwards compatibility.” 

Here’s an AI generated speculation on the 6G core network to be specified by 3GPP in Release 21:

• AI and Machine Learning (ML) will be fundamental to the 6G core, moving beyond supplementary roles to become an inherent part of the network’s design and operation.
• Every network function may be AI-powered, enabling advanced decision-making, predictive maintenance, and real-time optimization.
• 6G core will be designed to support the full lifecycle of AI components, including data collection, model training, validation, deployment, and performance monitoring. 
• Network slicing will evolve further in 6G, enabling even more flexible, customized, and isolated network slices tailored to the diverse requirements of emerging applications.
• The 6G core will likely leverage a streamlined, unified, and future-proof exposure framework, potentially building on the 3GPP Common API Framework (CAPIF), to enable new value creation and monetization opportunities through network service exposure to third parties. 
• The 6G core will be designed with a strong focus on energy efficiency and sustainability, considering the growing demands and environmental impact of network operations.
• It will need to be resilient to handle high mobility conditions of devices across various networks and administrative domains, including terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) like satellites & drones.
• Security and trustworthiness will be paramount, requiring a strong emphasis on authentication, data privacy, integrity, and operational resilience.
• The 6G core will likely incorporate quantum-safe cryptography to address the threat of quantum computing.
• While many in the industry favor an evolutionary path building upon the 5G core, some in the Chinese telecom ecosystem have advocated for a completely new 6G core network architecture.
• This suggests a potential for divergence in the early stages of 6G development, with discussions and debates within 3GPP shaping the ultimate architectural choices. 

In summary, the 6G core network to be specified by 3GPP is anticipated to be a highly intelligent, flexible, and efficient platform, deeply integrated with AI/ML, supporting diverse services through enhanced network slicing and exposure, while addressing critical challenges in security, sustainability, and global connectivity.

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References:

https://www.3gpp.org/specifications-technologies/releases/release-20

The SA1 road to 6G: https://www.3gpp.org/news-events/3gpp-news/sa1-6g-road

Introduction to 3GPP Release 19 and 6G Planning – Contains an introduction to the preparation for 6G in 3GPP: https://atis.org/webinars/introduction-to-3gpp-release-19-and-6g-planning/

Advancing 5G towards 6G, TSDSI Workshops (Jan 2023): https://www.3gpp.org/news-events/partner-news/tsdsi-workshops

https://www.lightreading.com/6g/qualcomm-is-optimistic-geopolitics-won-t-tear-6g-apart

https://www.qualcomm.com/news/onq/2025/06/3gpp-release-20-completing-5g-advanced-evolution-preparing-for-global-6g-standardization

ITU-R WP 5D reports on: IMT-2030 (“6G”) Minimum Technology Performance Requirements; Evaluation Criteria & Methodology

Highlights of 3GPP Stage 1 Workshop on IMT 2030 (6G) Use Cases

ITU-R: IMT-2030 (6G) Backgrounder and Envisioned Capabilities

ITU-R WP5D invites IMT-2030 RIT/SRIT contributions

NGMN issues ITU-R framework for IMT-2030 vs ITU-R WP5D Timeline for RIT/SRIT Standardization

IMT-2030 Technical Performance Requirements (TPR) from ITU-R WP5D

Draft new ITU-R recommendation (not yet approved): M.[IMT.FRAMEWORK FOR 2030 AND BEYOND]

IMT Vision – Framework and overall objectives of the future development of IMT for 2030 and beyond