NGMN highlights major 6G challenges

• The telecom sector’s 6G temperature is rising 
• Specifications work will start in earnest soon
• Industry group NGMN has issued a new paper outlining the expectations of its members 
• It includes a sobering reminder of the challenges associated with delivering a harmonised and useful set of next-generation network specifications

AI might be the abbreviation hogging the headlines right now, including in the telecom sector, but March 2025 is likely to witness a surge of 6G coverage as the road to the next generation of mobile network specifications is set to be a major talking point at MWC25 in Barcelona. With that in mind, industry body the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGMN) has issued a new paper, Network Architecture Evolution towards 6G, to fuel the debate and put forward the thoughts of its operator-led membership.

NGMN set out its 6G stall in its September 2023 paper, 6G Position Statement – An Operator View, in which it shared some key requirements from the telco community (for example, 6G should not trigger a network hardware refresh) – see NGMN’s telco members issue 6G plea.

The new paper builds on that, stressing that the “6G network architecture should address 5G gaps, support new scenarios and requirements, adapt to RAN changes, and embrace emerging technology trends.” 

And in what seems like a clear flag in the ground ahead of the upcoming MWC25 event but, more importantly (and particularly) the 3GPP 6G Workshop to be held in Incheon, South Korea, on 10-11 March, the NGMN noted that it “emphasises the importance of allocating sufficient time in the standardisation process to ensure industry-wide collaboration, enabling a smooth and continuous evolution of mobile networks towards 6G and beyond.”

Arash Ashouriha, chairman of the NGMN Alliance Board and SVP of group technology at Deutsche Telekom, stated: “NGMN envisions the future network architecture as a service-based platform that evolves to efficiently meet the growing demands of users, applications and industries, while leveraging the ongoing advancements of 5G. To ensure the next generation of mobile networks unleashes its full potential, it is important that clear architectural design and implementation principles are set at an early stage, promoting cooperation, minimising unnecessary complexity, and ensuring alignment with long-term objectives.” 

And while the NGMN document lays out what the industry body hopes to see as 6G develops, it importantly highlighted the numerous challenges associated with achieving meaningful consensus ahead of the standardisation process. And as the NGMN notes in its paper, “consensus on 6G network architecture has yet to be reached,” and is going to be tricky as many network operators are at different stages of their 5G architecture evolution and that is likely to result in “diverse perspectives on the most suitable 6G evolution path,” something that hindered 5G’s development. 

“Finding appropriate balance between the need for flexibility, accommodating diverse levels of 5G network evolution among operators, and the need to ensure simplicity for 6G remain a critical challenge. Recognising these challenges, the majority of NGMN MNO Members believe that now is the appropriate time to commence studies on 6G network architecture, with many emphasising the urgency of achieving alignment prior to 3GPP standardisation,” adds the NGMN in its paper. 

The key challenges outlined in the new paper are: 

• Achieving consensus during standardisation 

• Managing the complexity of enabling new capabilities and capacity and preserving legacy systems 

• Efforts for infrastructure upgrades 

• Identify and understand key 6G business case

• Spectrum issues 

• Redeploying existing services 

All of which are major considerations for the industry but the NGMN highlights that “achieving consensus on standardisation is the most critical challenge among these”.

And as TelecomTV’s latest industry report has shown, gaining consensus on 6G might be particularly tough – Top telecom sector execs split over 6G – report.

Efforts to achieve that consensus will start in Barcelona, if not before, and 6G will certainly be a topic for discussion during the NGMN’s press and industry briefing at MWC25 (Wednesday 5 March, 12pm). 

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV