- Operators have already said that they will use 5G SA core for 6G
- Qualcomm, however, is proposing a new light 6G core
- We'll see who wins on the core issue over the next few years
The 6G standard won’t be finalized until 2028 – at the earliest! – with the 3GPP’s Release 21 specification. That doesn’t mean, however, that there isn’t already a lively debate over what elements will go into the forthcoming standard.
Operators and vendors are arguing it out over whether the new cellular spec should have a new core or use the 5G standalone (5G SA) as its foundation. As a quick refresher, the cellular core sits between the radio access network (RAN) and external networks. The core handles transferring network traffic at high speed, while controlling data and subscriber information.
NTT DoCoMo’s chief standardization officer Takehiro Nakamura told Fierce in November 2023 that the operator would rely on the 5G SA core to support 6G. “We don’t want to invest in a new core,” Nakamura said in an interview at the Brooklyn 6G summit that year. “That’s kind of a common understanding among operators."
That has been the usual take on how 6G will work. Of course, many operators have yet to deploy to a 5G SA core, which is required to rollout 5G-Advanced and after that 6G. A majority still rely on a 4G core to run their 5G RAN network.
“Forget it, there won’t be a ‘new’ core network after 5G SA,” Joe Madden lead analyst at Mobile Experts said in an email to Fierce. “There will be some interesting new AI features and other improvements that our research will be highlighting this year, but there’s no reason for another wholesale change,” he added.
The Qualcomm-esque take
“I think the core question is a good one,” Dean Bubley, founder at Disruptive Analysis told Fierce in an email. “Qualcomm has what I consider to be a compelling vision of a slimmed-down core, and a vision of how to get there.”
Bubley argued the current 3GPP core is too heavy and "over-featured," which has unintentionally made it the "source of the mobile industry's problems, not the home of its solutions and new revenue opportunities."
“It’s a boat-anchor holding back 5G," he added.
And yet, Bubley acknowledged that some legacy operators don't want to change much about 5G and instead are seeking a "gentle evolution" to 6G. That might work for them, but he noted the 6G ecosystem will include more than just traditional mobile operators.
In Bubley's opinion, "the industry itself needs massive restructuring, and the 5G core isn’t really great for all the other 6G stakeholders such as neutral hosts, FWA providers, enterprises and governments."
Safe to say it's going to be an interesting few years as this all gets hashed out.