I’m starting to think a lot more about #6G regulatory themes.

What should telecom regulators and policymakers start thinking about now, even though 6G is a long way in the future? #Spectrum is obvious, but there are plenty of other areas to consider as well.

Many aspects of rulemaking take a very long time to enact. There may be studies, technical trials, consultations, legal challenges, inter-agency liaisons and much more, taking years. It makes sense to start thinking about this now, as otherwise there could be unnecessary delays later.

Yes, there are still many variables about what 6G will be, what technologies it will adopt, what its use-cases could be, and even the network ownership models which will apply. The International Telecommunication Union has only recently adopted its initial #IMT2030 framework.

But we already have a view of what new capabilities 6G will bring, what some of the core enabling technologies might be – and what else will be going on in the world in parallel, outside of #wireless, such as cloud and #ai evolution.

I recently gave a training and insight session for a major regulator about preparing for 6G. I’ve now put together a more general slide-deck about some of the issues I’m expecting to arise, which regulators should start considering now. There are plenty more – and I haven’t even considered many spectrum issues in this.

Some key themes to consider:

  • What are the lessons to learn from #5G #regulation & policymaking?
  • What is needed to ensure that 6G is “indoor-ready” from Day 1?
  • What KPIs / metrics will be needed for 6G, and how can regulators get data?
  • Given 6G R&D trends, which rules may need to be re-considered? AI-native networks, #spectrumsharing models, combined comms + #sensing, or “reconfigurable surfaces” in the RAN etc
  • How can 6G address rural, remote & other hard areas?
  • Will 6G networks involve “infrastructure convergence” & co-regulation with energy, transport or other sectors?
  • Will 6G be “business-model neutral” by design? Will it span traditional (legacy?) MNOs, new types of MVNO, infracos & neutral hosts, private 6G, government networks, FWA specialists etc? What does that imply? Will today’s MNO model still be relevant or thriving?
  • What might the 6G vendor landscape look like?
  • How could #geopolitics and #cybersecurity affect 6G? Everyone is talking up the need for a single global standard, but what happens if fragmentation occurs?

I don’t have all the answers. But recommendation #1 is to be wary of anyone else who claims they do, either – especially if they attach economic forecasts like “GDP uplift from 6G” or attempt traffic-volume predictions for a spectrum landgrab or to justify protectionist rules.

The slidedeck is more about questions and provocation. But I’d be very interested in opportunities to engage with regulators and policymakers, to explore these in more depth. Reach out to me to see how we could work together to prepare for the 6G era.