Ericsson has completed the world’s first pre-standard 6G over-the-air trial, marking a significant step toward commercial 6G networks and reinforcing U.S. ambitions in next-generation wireless leadership. The milestone was achieved at the company’s U.S. headquarters in Plano, Texas, using a trusted end-to-end architecture designed to be AI- and cloud-native.
AI-native architecture at the core of 6G vision
The demonstration validated key 6G building blocks at a system level, including advanced radio hardware, RAN Compute, software-defined air interfaces, and cloud platforms. The pre-standard 6G stack operates in the 7 GHz spectrum band, with a carrier bandwidth of 400 MHz, focusing on optimized uplink performance, enhanced energy efficiency, and improved spectral utilization.
A central element of Ericsson’s 6G focus is its future-proof, software-driven architecture that can run on multiple hardware platforms, including CPUs and GPUs. This flexibility is designed to support AI workloads natively within the network, enabling real-time adaptation, intelligent resource management, and scalable performance.
Enabling AI at the edge
The 6G trial demonstrated two critical capabilities aligned with the evolution of AI-driven services – powering AI robotics with instant, highly reliable connectivity for real-time control, and supporting real-time video streaming with consistent low latency.
As AI expands beyond smartphones into robotics, autonomous systems, immersive applications, and industrial automation, wireless networks are becoming a foundational layer of the AI stack. Ericsson’s 6G strategy centers on building networks that can sense, compute, and adapt dynamically, delivering higher uplink capacity and deterministic performance to support next-generation AI applications.
Strengthening U.S. 6G leadership
The milestone aligns with U.S. government priorities around 6G research, global standards participation, and forward-looking spectrum policy. By conducting the live pre-standard trial in the United States, Ericsson aims to position the broader U.S. ecosystem – including operators, enterprises, academia, startups, and government partners – to shape global 6G standards and commercialization pathways.
Ericsson continues to contribute to international standards development through bodies such as 3GPP and Open RAN initiatives, ensuring that its 6G innovations are aligned with global interoperability frameworks.
Expanding U.S. R&D and manufacturing footprint
Ericsson has operated in the United States for more than 120 years and currently employs over 6,000 people across 12 R&D centers focused on AI, ASIC design, and antenna systems. Its U.S. headquarters in Plano serves as a major hub for advanced wireless research and standards development.
The company also manufactures advanced 5G radios and RAN Compute systems at its 5G USA Smart Factory in Lewisville, Texas. The highly automated, 300,000-square-foot facility supports more than 550 manufacturing jobs and strengthens domestic supply chain resilience. As 6G matures, Ericsson plans to build on this U.S.-based manufacturing foundation to support future deployments.
Laying the groundwork for commercial 6G
By validating pre-standard 6G performance in the 7 GHz band with 400 MHz bandwidth and AI-native system capabilities, Ericsson is moving 6G from research theory into system-level reality. The company plans to expand trials across additional spectrum bands and deepen collaboration with operators and chipset partners to accelerate 6G readiness.
BABURAJAN KIZHAKEDATH
