- 6G needs to include all wireless technologies, not just cellular, according to the organization
- The group advocates for a wireless ecosystem where wireless networks collaborate rather than compete
- WBA membership includes companies like AT&T, Comcast and Cisco
MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS, BARCELONA – Like a lot of folks, the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) would like to avoid making the same old mistakes when it comes to 6G.
That means greater collaboration between multiple stakeholders – Wi-Fi, cellular, non-terrestrial networks, IoT low-power wireless access networks (LPWANs) and any other wireless technologies at its core.
That’s one of the key messages it’s bringing to MWC 2025. WBA’s membership includes the likes of AT&T, Amazon, Comcast, Ford, Meta, Nokia and ZTE, to name a few.
“Of course, 6G new radio will happen. I have no doubt about it,” WBA President and CEO Tiago Rodrigues told Fierce. “But that new architecture should have easy plug-ins to integrate, either Wi-Fi or private cellular or even satellite.”
In other words, “don't make it as in the past – a very closed environment that creates a very huge burden” for mobile network operators, he said, noting that operators don’t want to write a bunch of new checks when they’re still reeling from the gazillions they spent on 5G.
Cellular standards organizations have made efforts to integrate Wi-Fi in the past, through converged solutions like Wi-Fi calling or SIM-based seamless Wi-Fi authentication. However, broader real-world adoption has lagged due to complex implementation practices and other factors.
The integration piece of the puzzle needs to be addressed in the standards, not as an afterthought, he said.
“What we are really looking to see is a more friendly architecture to integrate non-3GPP networks, either Wi-Fi or private cellular or satellite or any other wireless technology that makes sense for an operator or a carrier to integrate,” he said.
The WBA recently issued its 6G vision statement with input and support from these WBA member organizations: AT&T, Airties, Boingo Wireless, Boldyn Networks, BT, Charter, Cisco, Comcast, HFCL, Intel, Reliance Jio and Turk Telekom.
OpenRoaming isn’t growing fast enough
Another big issue WBA is talking about at MWC is OpenRoaming, which enables Wi-Fi devices to roam more like cellular phones without the need for passwords or other actions that gum up the works.
OpenRoaming is getting adopted in more places worldwide, but it’s still not everywhere and it’s taking a while to get to where the WBA wants to be with it. That’s in part because brands tend to want to test it to the ends of the Earth and then some.
“I can tell you that we are working with very large retail brands, for example. They love the technology, but they want to test it over and over again,” Rodrigues said.
Whether it’s a hospital, large supermarket or hotel chain, “whenever they want to activate OpenRoaming, they want to be 100% sure that they have all the processes in place, that everything is going to be smooth, that people will not start complaining,” he said. “So that's why that sometimes takes a little bit longer than expected.”