Top telecom sector execs split over 6G – report

• TelecomTV has just published its Industry Vision report based on feedback from our DSP Leaders Council members 
• We asked those senior telecom industry executives about a broad range of topics
• They were split over whether the industry is doing enough currently to prepare for 6G

Is the telecom sector doing enough to prepare for 6G? Top industry executives are split over this question, according to the results of a survey conducted in January with the members of the DSP Leaders Council and published in our latest free-to-download industry report. 

We asked our councillors (senior executives from the telco, vendor, enterprise and analyst communities) about a broad range of topics and the results of our extensive survey can be found in the DSP Leaders Industry Vision Report. 

With 6G set to be a major talking point during the upcoming MWC25 event in Barcelona, and with the 3GPP ready to start “laying the groundwork for 6G” in the Release 20 work that will start in the coming months, we asked our councillors: Is the telecom sector doing enough to prepare for 6G?

With 5G return on investment proving tough for most – Deutsche Telekom’s CEO Tim Höttges claims his company is the exception – there has been some pushback in recent years against efforts to get the industry, and the telcos in particular, to focus resources on 6G R&D and planning. 

And as the results of our survey show, there’s a definite split amongst our council members too: While 38% of our councillors believe current levels of R&D and planning are adequate and appropriate, 35% reckon the telecom sector shouldn’t be wasting any of its time and resources on 6G! That’s a brutal assessment! 

Only 19% of our respondents think the industry has taken its eye off the 6G ball and, surprisingly, only a few councillors aren’t sure (I expected the ‘not sure’ vote to be much higher).

The debate and heat around 6G is set to intensify this year, especially following the upcoming 3GPP 6G Workshop to be held in Incheon, South Korea, on 10-11 March, where industry representatives will start to pinpoint exactly what needs to be considered for standardisation in 3GPP Release 21, which will include the first technical specifications for 6G.  

But will that soften the views of many of our DSP Leaders Council members? It’ll be interesting to see how they vote when we ask the same question in a year’s time.  

The 2025 edition of the DSP Leaders Industry Vision Report is available now: You can find all of our free-to-download reports here and you can stay up to date with our coverage of next-generation wireless network developments in our dedicated 6G Research & Innovation channel. 

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV