Summary Bullets:
• Operators want 6G migration to be more software-centric and require less expensive radio installation than 5G.
• Stakeholders developing industry standards for 6G are making progress toward such goals.
As the mobile telecom industry continues to work on defining 6G – the next generation of mobile technologies, expected to meet commercial reality before the end of this decade – operators have been vocal about the ways they want 6G to be unlike 5G. In particular, they want to avoid the disappointing return on their 5G network rollout investments, including the expensive nationwide installation of large massive MIMO radio/antenna units.