6G news and analysis for the week ending Friday, 23rd January, 2026.
China dominated this week’s 6G headlines with a significant milestone: the completion of the first phase of national 6G technology trials and the formal launch of Phase Two. MIIT spokesperson Xie Cun confirmed that Phase One produced a reserve of more than 300 key technologies (this is worth a future deep dive; I’ll see what I can find!), and that the country’s 5G infrastructure now stands at 4.838 million base stations serving 1.2 billion users. The transition to Phase Two signals a shift from individual technology validation toward system-level integration and testing, a step that would appear to position China firmly ahead in the pre-standardisation development timeline.
Reinforcing this momentum, Huawei was acknowledged as the global leader in 6G patent filings, holding a 15.7% share worldwide. China as a whole accounts for 42% of global 5G standard-essential patent declarations, and its enterprises are building comparable dominance in 6G intellectual property. The patent landscape matters because it shapes negotiating leverage in the 3GPP standards process, where technical contributions backed by strong IP portfolios carry significant weight.
Beyond China, this was a week for research infrastructure investment. IMDEA Networks in Madrid completed three EU-funded projects that have transformed its facilities into a European reference testbed for 6G, spanning terahertz radio, ISAC, quantum communications and AI-native network management. South Korea’s KRISS won four Horizon Europe metrology (the scientific study of measurements) projects, including on-wafer electromagnetic measurement for 6G base technologies, in what represents an early return on Korea’s associate membership of the EU research programme.
Key announcements this week
China advances to phase two 6G trials
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced the completion of the first phase of national 6G technology trials and the formal commencement of Phase Two. MIIT spokesperson Xie Cun confirmed at a press conference in Beijing that Phase One yielded a reserve of more than 300 key 6G technologies. He noted that China has built 4.838 million 5G base stations, with 5G users exceeding 1.2 billion and China accounting for 42% of global 5G standard-essential patent declarations. Xie stated:
“my country has completed the first phase of 6G technology trials, forming a reserve of over 300 key technologies, and has officially launched the second phase of 6G technology trials.”
The ministry indicated it will accelerate 6G R&D while fostering an application-oriented industrial ecosystem.
What’s new: The transition from Phase One to Phase Two marks a shift from individual technology component validation to more integrated system-level trials. The 300-technology reserve represents a broad base spanning radio access, core network and application layer capabilities that China will now begin testing in combination.
Why this matters: China’s phased trial programme operates independently of the 3GPP standardisation timeline, but its outcomes feed directly into Chinese companies’ standards contributions. With 3GPP Release 20 study items now active and Release 21 normative work expected to define 6G specifications, the timing of Phase Two positions Chinese vendors to bring field-tested data to the standards table. The scale of China’s existing 5G infrastructure provides a real-world testbed that few other countries can match. The MIIT press conference also highlighted broader AI industry growth, with over 6,000 AI enterprises and a core AI industry expected to exceed 1.2 trillion yuan, reinforcing the convergence of AI and next-generation communications.
Implications for 6G standards: Chinese companies led by Huawei, ZTE and China Mobile are among the most prolific contributors to 3GPP. System-level trial results from Phase Two will likely inform their technical contributions to Release 20 and 21 study items, particularly in areas such as AI-native networks, ISAC and NTN integration where China has invested heavily.
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Huawei leads in global 6G patents
Huawei continues to hold the top position in global 6G patent filings, with a 15.7% share according to figures cited by MIIT at the same press conference. ZTE, Xiaomi and other Chinese firms also feature in the global top ten. China collectively holds over 40% of the approximately 210,000 global 5G standard-essential patents, comprising 47,000 patent families. South Korea ranks second and the United States third in overall patent holdings.
What’s new: The confirmation of Huawei’s 15.7% 6G patent share comes directly from the Chinese government’s own assessment, presented alongside the Phase Two trial announcement. This links patent leadership explicitly to the national 6G development programme.
Why this matters: Patent portfolios in telecommunications are not merely defensive assets. They represent bargaining chips in the 3GPP standards process, where companies with strong IP can influence which technologies are adopted into specifications. Huawei’s leading position in both 5G and 6G patents reinforces its central role in shaping future standards. For Western operators and vendors, this raises ongoing questions about technology dependence and licensing costs. The concentration of patent ownership also feeds into broader geopolitical debates about supply chain security and standards sovereignty, themes that featured prominently in several 3GPP 6G Workshop submissions.
Implications for 6G standards: Patent strength correlates with standards influence. Huawei’s 6G patent portfolio, combined with its recent publication of the Agentic-AI Core architecture and ongoing contributions to 3GPP working groups, positions the company as a dominant force in defining how 6G specifications will be written.
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China files for 200,000-satellite mega-constellations
China has filed with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for two mega-constellations, designated CTC-1 and CTC-2, totalling nearly 200,000 satellites. The filings are characterised as spectrum coordination rights rather than near-term build commitments. China’s on-orbit fleet has grown from dozens to roughly 1,000 satellites over the past decade, with operational broadband, Earth observation and the Tiangong station already deployed.
What’s new: The ITU filings represent a capacity envelope for communications, safety and low-altitude sensing. Private Chinese launch companies are maturing rapidly, with LandSpace operating the world’s first orbital methane rocket and Galactic Energy building commercial launch cadence. New launch pads at Hainan Wenchang and inland sites point to parallelisation of launch capacity. On the device side, satellite messaging is now available on mainstream Xiaomi handsets in China through the national Tiantong system.
Why this matters: ITU spectrum filings secure optionality for future deployment and are standard practice among major space-faring nations. The 200,000 figure should be understood as a ceiling rather than a committed build plan. However, the signal is clear: China intends to make satellite connectivity a native layer in its national network architecture. This aligns with the NTN integration that virtually every major 3GPP 6G Workshop submission identified as essential, with organisations including Airbus, ESA, Thales and China Satellite Network Group (CSCN) calling for non-terrestrial networks to be integrated into 6G from day one. Chinese carriers including China Mobile and China Telecom are already running Release 17 NTN trials for IoT and backhaul.
Implications for 6G standards: The filings reinforce China’s commitment to the terrestrial-satellite convergence that 3GPP is actively standardising. Even partial realisation of these constellations would create significant low-Earth orbit capacity, influencing spectrum sharing frameworks and NTN architecture decisions in Release 21.
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IMDEA builds European 6G reference testbed
IMDEA Networks in Madrid has completed three EU-funded infrastructure projects, ADVANCE-6G, TEST-6G and INES, which have transformed its facilities into what it describes as a European reference testbed for 6G research. The projects were funded through the EU’s NextGenerationEU programme via Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. Carlos Jesús Bernardos, part-time researcher at IMDEA Networks, said:
“The TEST-6G project has significantly transformed IMDEA Networks’ experimental capabilities, consolidating the Institute as the core of the SLICES-Madrid node within the European ESFRI SLICES-RI initiative.”
What’s new: The infrastructure now spans sub-6 GHz, millimetre-wave and terahertz radio bands, integrated with edge computing, AI platforms, IoT environments and a fully operational quantum communications system for quantum key distribution research. A high-order multiband MIMO platform supports ISAC experimentation. A new data centre provides 100 Gbps connectivity and high-performance computing for AI model training. The testbed operates in both laboratory and real-world outdoor environments on the Carlos III University campus.
Why this matters: The transition from laboratory-only to real-world experimentation is a critical step for 6G research. Many proposed 6G technologies, including terahertz communications, ISAC and AI-driven network management, behave very differently in real propagation environments with mobility, interference and device density. IMDEA Networks’ facilities address this gap by providing a shared platform accessible to the international research community through the European SLICES-RI initiative. The quantum communications infrastructure anticipates the security requirements that 3GPP SA3 has already begun studying for 6G.
Implications for 6G standards: Research testbeds that produce real-world performance data provide the evidence base for standards contributions. The ISAC, terahertz and AI-native capabilities at IMDEA align directly with active 3GPP Release 20 study items and anticipated Release 21 work.
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Korea’s KRISS wins Horizon Europe 6G projects
South Korea’s Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) has won four projects under the Horizon Europe programme’s European Partnership on Metrology. The 6G-relevant project focuses on on-wafer electromagnetic measurement and device measurement technologies to support 6G communications base technologies. KRISS will form consortia with major European metrology institutes including the UK National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and Germany’s PTB. Lee Ho-seong, head of KRISS, said:
“This result shows that Korea’s measurement standards technology capabilities are top-tier within the large research ecosystem led by Europe.”
What’s new: This is one of the first tangible outcomes of South Korea’s associate membership of Horizon Europe, which took effect in January 2025 as the first Asian country to join. Previously, Korean research institutes participated as third-country researchers with limited EU budget access. KRISS can now receive and execute EU research funds directly. Three of the four projects will receive approximately €285,000 each over three years.
Why this matters: Precision electromagnetic measurement at wafer level is foundational work for the semiconductors and RF components that will underpin 6G base stations and devices. As 6G pushes into higher frequencies, including millimetre-wave and sub-terahertz bands, the ability to accurately characterise device performance at these frequencies becomes critical. Korea’s formalised participation in the EU research ecosystem strengthens the cross-regional collaboration that has historically been important for global standards convergence. Korean companies including Samsung, LG, SK Telecom and KT are among the most active 3GPP contributors through TTA.
Implications for 6G standards: Measurement standards and device characterisation underpin the conformance testing that ensures interoperability. This work feeds into the longer-term ecosystem that will support 6G device certification and deployment.
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Korean polymer RF switch targets 6G flexibility
A research team at South Korea’s UNIST, in collaboration with Dankook University, has developed a polymer-based RF switch capable of operating at frequencies up to 5.38 terahertz, the highest performance recorded for organic materials. The device remained stable above 128.7°C and withstood over 3,600 bending cycles without performance loss. The findings were published in Advanced Functional Materials. Professor Myungsoo Kim said:
“This work challenges the common belief that flexible devices are inherently heat-sensitive and low-performing.”
What’s new: The switch uses a polymer called pV3D3 with a three-dimensional network structure, layered between ultra-thin gold films. It operates as a non-volatile analog switch, similar to a memristor but without moving parts. The combination of flexibility, thermal stability and terahertz-range performance in a single polymer device is a first.
Why this matters: RF switches are fundamental components in wireless communication systems, managing signal routing and power. Current commercial switches are rigid and inorganic, limiting their use in flexible, wearable and conformal device form factors. As 6G extends into millimetre-wave and sub-terahertz frequencies, components that can operate reliably at these frequencies while remaining physically flexible become increasingly important for new device categories including body-worn sensors, IoT endpoints and potentially conformal antenna arrays.
Implications for 6G standards: While component-level research does not directly affect standards specifications, the availability of flexible, high-frequency RF components expands the range of device types that 6G networks will need to support. Multiple 3GPP 6G Workshop submissions, including from Qualcomm, highlighted the need for 6G to accommodate diverse device form factors beyond traditional smartphones.