NETWORKS
Washington rallies allies to shape next-generation networks after spending 18 months rattling them
America wants its allies to come together and help it lead the way in defining 6G communications standards, with security and resilience seen as key goals for next-generation networks.
The latest effort to corral international work on 6G comes from the US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which says it is pursuing the objectives of a December 2025 memo from President Trump on “Winning the 6G Race.”
That memo didn’t identify who America is racing against, but it is a fair bet that it is China, which gained a lead during the development of 5G technology. Huawei in particular is understood to hold more declared 5G standard-essential patent families than any other company.
The NTIA says it is launching this initiative alongside more than 20 governments, including several European nations like the UK and the Nordic countries, Japan, South Korea, and Australia. The Nordics are significant as they are home to telecoms equipment suppliers Nokia and Ericsson.
These governments have all pledged to strengthen cooperation on 6G over the next 12 months and beyond in support of greater security, interoperability, and resilience for next-generation networks, the NTIA claims.
“The Call to Action for 6G Leadership and Security reflects an unprecedented level of international coordination on the future of communications technology,” stated NTIA administrator Arielle Roth.
“By working now with trusted partners, we will ensure that next generation networks reflect our shared security interests, strengthen our competitiveness, and drive innovation.”
So after President Trump has spent 18 months since inauguration disparaging and threatening America’s “trusted partners,” the US has decided it would really like their help in becoming the world leader in 6G technology. Isn’t that nice?
The initiative lays out specific milestones on strategic coordination over the next year or so, as 6G moves toward commercialization. These include engaging with the telecoms industry to understand the “political and economic landscape” for 6G networks and meetings to identify the potential for more coordinated approaches.
It also calls for a big meeting in 2027 to review joint progress, where the partners are expected to evaluate funding strategies, share information on 6G research and development, assess 5G and 6G technical and cybersecurity risks, and promote common 6G policies.
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All of this seems aimed at coordinating positions on the spectrum needed for 6G ahead of the next World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-27). Scheduled for October 18 to November 12 in Shanghai next year, the conference will consider which frequency bands are made available for next-generation mobile networks.
But it isn’t the first attempt at international collaboration over the next-gen wireless standard. The US-UK Tech Prosperity Deal, agreed last year, proposed greater cooperation in a range of science and technology areas including 6G, but this was put on ice by President Trump after just a few months over trade disagreements.
Earlier this year, the Global Coalition on Telecommunications (GCOT) unveiled a set of security and resilience principles it wanted to see baked into 6G from the start. The organization includes many of the same nations as the latest US scheme.
“This is a clear attempt by the US and its allies to shape the 6G landscape before commercial networks arrive,” PP Foresight founder and analyst Paolo Pescatore told The Register.
“The priority is to embed security, resilience, interoperability, and supply-chain diversity from the outset, rather than repeat the costly mistakes and geopolitical tensions that defined the 5G era.
“Although China is not explicitly mentioned, the strategic intent is obvious: to reduce dependence on high-risk suppliers and to ensure that trusted nations have greater influence over standards, investment, and innovation. However, this remains a political framework rather than a binding agreement.”
The first 6G deployments could arrive as soon as 2029, with the US and South Korea likely to lead in early adoption, according to a report from Juniper Research earlier this year.
Despite this, the exact characteristics that will define 6G networks have yet to be thrashed out. Bodies representing the mobile networks want to see a smooth and cost-effective migration path for their members, avoiding the mistakes made with 5G, while the GSMA has already put it out there that 6G networks may need up to three times the spectrum currently allocated to meet the anticipated demands for data. ®