NGMN: Journey to 6G Should Confront 5G Network Gaps
Consensus, time and a focus on continuous improvement will be mission-critical elements for guiding the evolution of mobile networks towards 6G and beyond, building on the solid foundation of 5G.
The Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGMN) revealed this today while publishing a proposed framework to guide the evolution of network architecture towards 6G.
Its Network Architecture Evolution towards 6G report builds on its 2023 6G positioning statement and advises the future 6G network architecture should be addressing 5G gaps, supporting new scenarios and requirements, adapting to RAN changes and embracing emerging technology trends.
“Key design principles for 6G architecture include enabling innovation, delivering new features in a modular manner, network simplicity, sustainability, trustworthiness, cloud-native approaches and seamless migration from 5G.”
“NGMN envisions the future network architecture as a service-based platform that evolves to efficiently meet the growing demands of users, applications and industries, while leveraging the ongoing advancements of 5G,” shares Arash Ashouriha, Chairman of the NGMN Alliance Board and SVP Group Technology at Deutsche Telekom.
“To ensure the next generation of mobile networks unleashes its full potential, it is important that clear architectural design and implementation principles are set at an early stage, promoting cooperation, minimising unnecessary complexity and ensuring alignment with long-term objectives.”
A need for network collaboration
NGMN emphasises the importance of allocating sufficient time in the standardisation process to ensure industry-wide collaboration. This will help to enable a smooth and continuous evolution of mobile networks towards 6G and beyond.
The 6G network architecture design principles aim to address the limitations of 5G while also ensuring support for new scenarios and requirements. Mobile network operators (MNOs) participating in the report highlighted network complexity, challenges in integrating with legacy systems and energy efficiency as key concerns with existing 5G networks that should not be repeated in 6G development.
“As 6G emerges, with its promise of even higher data rates, lower latency, greater device connectivity and providing AI and computing services, energy efficiency will become an even more critical concern and need additional measures to lower the overall energy consumption,” the report reads.
- The network evolution towards 6G is still in its early stage
- 5G has made significant progress, but challenges remain over network complexity, energy efficiency, limited coverage and flexibility
- The impact of emerging technologies (AI/ML, cloud) need careful consideration
NGMN sets out 13 solutions to support the 6G evolution, noting that the evolving network architecture should enable innovation, support on-demand deployment of new features and ensure backward compatibility with existing core connectivity services.
Autonomous network management and AI-native design were identified as key drivers for architectural change.
MNOs involved in the development of these principles also suggested that a new 6G air interface should provide tangible improvements over 5G-Advanced in key areas, including increased spectrum efficiency, ISAC and dense low-cost device connectivity.
Making the 6G transition seamless
Following the publication of this framework, NGMN seeks to lead further initiatives and publish recommendations and requirements on key areas of network architecture evolution.
These include developing migration strategies, ensuring seamless coexistence with existing 5G networks and exploring new capabilities that 6G must support.
- Fostering collaboration and alignment across the industry
- Ensuring adequate time is allocated for 6G architecture studies
- Prioritising cost efficiency and deployment flexibility
These efforts hope to guide the continuous evolution of network architecture towards a scalable, innovative, efficient and sustainable framework, whilst also ensuring a seamless transition towards 6G that empowers a truly connected and intelligent society.
“The future of mobile networks lies in their ability to evolve continuously, much like software, to meet the changing needs of users and industries,” comments Laurent Leboucher, Member of the NGMN Alliance Board and Group CTO and Executive VP Networks at Orange.
“By focusing more on gradual improvements and leveraging the strengths of 5G and beyond, we can ensure a sustainable flow of innovative features, keeping our customers delighted.”
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