Qualcomm and MediaTek Lead the Charge Towards 6G: AI Integration and Technological Advancements

Qualcomm and MediaTek are now focusing on developing next-gen 6G technology

TL;DR: Qualcomm and MediaTek are focusing on 6G technology, announced at Mobile World Congress 2025. Qualcomm and MediaTek have decided to start focusing on next-gen 6G technology, announced during Mobile World Congress 2025 this week. The US-based chip maker has said it's working with Nokia Bell Labs and Rhode & Schwarz to develop and evolve its 6G cellular technology, which has a huge focus on AI (of course). Qualcomm expects future cellular networks to learn and adapt over time, so AI-native protocols can allow future 6G networks to dynamically adjust its parameters based on real-time conditions. Qualcomm predicts that 2025 will be the start of 6G standardization, and MediaTek agrees with that. We can expect multiple breakthrough technologies driven for 6G, including hybrid computing, a live low Earth orbit (LEO) broadband NR-NTN trial, sub-band full duplex (SBFD), and the new M90 5G Advanced modem. MediaTek's 6G efforts see the company partnering with NVIDIA, Intel, and G REIGNS. These collaborations will help enhance hybrid computing, one of the key components of future 6G networks. MediaTek's upcoming Hybrid Computing technology is a system that combines cloud and radio access network (RAN) into an "edge cloud" which is a key element of 6G infrastructure. What is 6G? 6G will be a transformative force in mobile communications, offering significant enhancements over 5G and generations before it. The 6G technology standard is expected to be finalized and ready for commercial adoption starting around 2030 yet work to establish its technical foundation has been underway for some time. 6G will be more than just a new radio design - it is envisioned to integrate advanced capabilities including AI, sensing, digital twinning, and a variety of new system features enabling higher levels of efficiency and performance. 6G will be the innovation platform for an expansive intelligent edge in the decades to come.

Qualcomm says it's time to start focusing on 6G

Qualcomm and Google are paving the way for even longer Android update support Summary Samsung and Arm are working on 6G cellular tech, expected to have data speeds up to 1TB/s. Now Qualcomm just announced it aims to standardize 6G in 2025, partly by incorporating more AI. It has collaborated with Nokia Bell Labs and Rhode and Schwarz to accomplish its "6G vision". 6G is inevitable. Sooner or later, it will be the next big marketing term for at least a few generations of smartphones. Samsung and Arm have already announced that they're working on it, saying they'll deploy "parallel pocket processing" to handle the high data speeds -- speculated to be around 1TB/s. Related Samsung and Arm have already started working on 6G mobile data The future of mobile data is parallel Posts Now, Qualcomm has announced that it intends to standardize 6G cellular tech in 2025 (via 91mobiles). This is the semiconductor company's big, flashy MWC 2025 (Mobile World Congress) announcement that it will discuss in more detail at the conference. Qualcomm also promised work on its FR3 band, which is essentially an inevitable side quest the company has to take, as the band will be used to power 6G tech. The San Diego-based company also wants to incorporate more AI than it currently does -- again, kind of a prerequisite it has to fulfill to make sure its 6G works smoothly. 6G could be closer than you think Source: Manuel de la Fuente from Pixabay Qualcomm is actively prepping itself for 6G, which means it has to work on a bunch of various things at the same time. For instance, to fulfill what it's been calling the "6G vision," it is integrating more AI into networks and devices. The company is hopeful that its AI initiatives will contribute to bettering 5G Advanced, which is, as the name suggests, an enhanced version of 5G offering faster upload and download speeds. Qualcomm has partnered with Nokia Bell Labs and Rhode and Schwarz to accomplish its vision. Related What is 5G Advanced? With 6G networks on the horizon, you might not realize 5G is getting a major upgrade Posts It also intends to improve its MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) systems, which would support the new, reworked FR3 band. The latter will allegedly offer a bandwidth of around 400MHz and be a crucial part of 6G by providing low latency, support for IoT devices, and fast data transfers. We all know that 6G is bound to happen. But a lot of us may not have been expecting 2025 to be the year. John Smee, Senior Vice President of Engineering at Qualcomm, says "2025 will be a momentous year, marking the official beginning of 6G standardization". Let's see if his promise is lived up to. Related Qualcomm and Google are paving the way for even longer Android update support The bar has been raised to 8 years of updates Posts 3

Qualcomm to Showcase 6G Vision and AI Wireless Advancements at MWC 2025

AI will be integrated across networks and devices for optimisation Qualcomm on Wednesday announced its plans for the development of 6G wireless technology, with several of the innovations set to be showcased at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025 in Barcelona. The company says it will commence standardisation of 6G cellular technology this year by increasing the spectral efficiency and improving coverage across all bands using new techniques. It is also betting big on artificial intelligence (AI) by integrating it across multiple layers of network and within devices. As per Qualcomm, its 6G Vision is a native AI system where future networks can dynamically adjust their parameters based on real-time conditions, such as interference levels, traffic load, and user mobility. The company's focus this year is said to be on improving two fundamental wireless network capabilities -- coverage and capacity. These networks can leverage AI-native protocols to learn and adapt over time, potentially developing an optimised performance which is tailored for each individual's application and device. For proper implementation of its 6G Vision, Qualcomm's research focuses on the collaboration of both network and devices leveraging AI. To achieve this, the US-based chipmaker has already commenced the design of a two-sided AI-enhanced channel state feedback (CSF) in 5G Advanced, a recently introduced networking technology which is claimed to bring AI and ML enhancements across the radio access network (RAN) RAN, Core, and network management layer. Notably, 5G Advanced is considered to be an important step towards the standardisation of 6G technology and debuted with the 3GPP Release 18 last year. As per the company, it is also upgrading its MIMO system designs to support new spectrum in the upper "FR3" midband, which is between 7-15 GHz. It was proposed by the World Radio Conference in 2023 and is said to cover frequencies from 7.125 GHz to 24.25 GHz. It delivers around 400 MHz of new wide-area bandwidth. Simulations and extensive over-the-air testing of the new FR3 Giga-MIMO system carried out by the chipmaker is said to have resulted in significant throughput gain and coverage comparable to sub-7 GHz. Qualcomm says it will work with spectrum regulators to make this band ready for the deployment of the 6G network. The company also claims that it is working with industry leaders such as Nokia Bell Labs and Rohde & Schwarz for the demonstration of benefits and scalability of the new AI-enhanced air interface design.

Qualcomm to showcase AI-powered wireless and 6G advances at MWC 2025

Qualcomm Technologies will showcase advancements in AI and wireless connectivity at MWC 2025 in Barcelona. The company is highlighting interoperable multi-vendor AI in wireless networks and next-generation wireless technologies, drawing from ongoing research and partnerships. Qualcomm Technologies and Nokia Bell Labs are collaborating to demonstrate AI's role in wireless networks. At MWC 2024, they showcased over-the-air AI-enhanced channel state feedback using a mobile device with Qualcomm's 5G modem-RF system and a Nokia prototype base station. The companies developed these models with sequential learning, a method that lets them collaborate without sharing sensitive details. They exchange training datasets of input/output pairs instead. Their work has since focused on proving this AI approach's flexibility and scalability. Tests occurred at three sites: an outdoor suburban location and two indoor sites (Indoor Site 1 and Indoor Site 2). A common AI model, trained on diverse data, matched the performance of site-specific models at the outdoor site and Indoor Site 1. After adapting it with Indoor Site 2 data, the common model's performance stayed within 1% of the updated version across four spots in that location. Compared to traditional grid-of-beams feedback (3GPP Type I), AI-based feedback boosted data throughput by 15% to 95% as a mobile user moved through a cell. Sharper beam patterns improved signal strength and reduced interference. Though real-world results may differ, these tests suggest AI outperforms older methods consistently. This year, the focus shifted to a "decoder-first" sequential learning approach, aligning with 3GPP interests. Nokia designed a decoder model and shared its training data with Qualcomm, which built a matching encoder. This flipped last year's "encoder-first" method, where Qualcomm led and Nokia followed. Both methods performed similarly, differing by just a few percentage points. John Smee, Senior Vice President of Engineering at Qualcomm Technologies, said, We're exploring new technology frontiers and breaking barriers to fully enable our vision of intelligent computing everywhere. From 5G Advanced and 6G to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, UWB, and beyond, we're driving foundational advancements to meet tomorrow's connectivity demands. Qualcomm is enhancing wireless essentials like coverage and capacity. For coverage, research focuses on low-band spectrum (below 1 GHz and 1-2 GHz) for wide reach, despite limited bandwidth. With 6G approaching, new air interface designs aim to boost efficiency across all bands. The company is also advancing 5G satellite technology (non-terrestrial networks) to connect remote areas, ensuring seamless transitions from urban to rural zones. For capacity, Qualcomm is evolving MIMO systems for the upper midband (7-15 GHz), called "FR3." This band provides about 400 MHz of new bandwidth. Tests of the FR3 Giga-MIMO system showed strong throughput and coverage comparable to sub-7 GHz bands. In data centers, mmWave (24 GHz+) and sub-THz (100 GHz+) spectrum could add capacity for cloud computing needs. AI is key to Qualcomm's 6G vision, aiming for networks that adapt in real time to traffic, mobility, and interference. This builds on 5G Advanced work with Nokia Bell Labs and Rohde & Schwarz on AI-enhanced channel state feedback. Tests show AI delivers gains even without site-specific training, though localized models can enhance performance further. Digital twins -- virtual network models -- also contribute. Qualcomm's O-RAN-based solution uses a digital twin and AI to manage network slicing for low-latency apps, predicting KPIs accurately. Another demo explores analog beamforming in massive MIMO, offering user-aware and dynamic beam options for better responsiveness. Qualcomm is expanding connectivity to new devices and uses. For immersive communication, extended reality (XR) relies on distributed computing and low-latency wireless links, developed with industry partners. Integrated sensing, using RF to detect objects, improves communications by mapping environments and saving device power. It also enables drone tracking for system monitoring. Qualcomm views 2025 as a pivotal year, with 6G standardization beginning. After MWC, the company will attend the 3GPP 6G RAN Plenary Workshop in Seoul. These efforts aim to shape the future of wireless technology.