3GPP delegates to reuse 5G New Radio for 6G physical layer

The decision to reuse 5G NR hardware provides a critical capital expenditure reprieve for operators who recently invested heavily in 5G infrastructure. By focusing on software-defined modifications, the industry avoids the immediate need for a massive hardware refresh while still addressing the upload bottlenecks caused by social video consumption. For the streaming ecosystem, the expansion to 400 MHz bandwidth in the 7 GHz band offers the necessary throughput for high-fidelity mobile video that 5G struggled to deliver consistently. Watch for the September 2026 RAN 1 meeting to see if delegates adopt Probabilistic Constellation Shaping to further optimize data rates.

3GPP's decision to retain the 5G New Radio physical layer for 6G reflects a broader industry consensus that emerged over the past year. In March 2025, Ericsson published its 6G position paper arguing that the initial 6G radio interface should build on NR rather than introduce a new air interface, a stance that aligned with the eventual RAN 1 outcome. The company has been among the most vocal proponents of software-upgradable base stations, having demonstrated its 6G-ready radio portfolio at MWC Barcelona 2025 with hardware capable of supporting both 5G NR and future 6G waveforms through firmware updates. Mattias Frenne, who leads Ericsson's 6G radio research, has consistently framed the approach as protecting operator investments while enabling new capabilities through software.

The regulatory and standards timeline adds urgency to this decision. 3GPP Release 20, which will define the first 6G specifications, is expected to be frozen by mid-2028 according to the organization's updated work plan approved in June 2025, giving equipment vendors roughly two years to finalize designs. The ITU IMT-2030 6G framework, which sets minimum performance requirements for 6G including peak data rates of 200 Gbps downlink and 100 Gbps uplink, establishes the targets that 3GPP's NR-based approach must meet. The 400 MHz channel bandwidth in the 7 GHz band represents a significant step toward those goals, though the World Radiocommunication Conference 2027 will determine whether sufficient spectrum is actually harmonized globally for that band.

From a technical standpoint, the choice to add DFT-S-OFDM for uplink and expand bandwidths places 6G NR in direct competition with alternative approaches being explored elsewhere. Qualcomm has been developing its own 6G air interface concepts emphasizing AI-native waveform design, though those proposals remain outside the 3GPP 6G standardization consensus track. Meanwhile, Nokia's Bell Labs published research in early 2025 on sub-THz bands above 100 GHz as a complementary layer for 6G, suggesting that the 7 GHz mid-band focus of RAN 1 will eventually need to integrate with higher-frequency deployments. For video streaming operators planning mobile delivery strategies, the NR-based 6G path means existing 5G core investments in edge computing and network slicing remain relevant rather than requiring a complete architectural reset.