From Research to Reality: Shaping the Path to 6G

At MWC Barcelona 2026, the GSMA 6G Community will host an invite-only executive roundtable bringing together leaders from industry, research institutes, and standards bodies to examine the evolving role, purpose, and direction of future 6G systems.

As 6G progresses from research toward early definition and standardisation, collaboration across the ecosystem becomes increasingly important. This roundtable will explore how research, standards development, and market considerations are shaping 6G, with a focus on lessons from 5G and 5G-Advanced, AI-native networking principles, system architecture, and the boundaries of standardisation, including ongoing work within 3GPP.

Through an interactive discussion, participants will address deployability, economics, sustainability, and coexistence with 5G-Advanced, while considering early use cases, customer segments, and success metrics for 6G.

Designed as a peer-to-peer forum, the session will surface shared challenges and opportunities, and identify where the GSMA 6G Community can add value, helping to define priorities and next steps for the journey toward 6G.