6G just can't seem to get its story straight

The mobile industry is already arguing about 6G, and the story keeps changing. Operators say they want new spectrum for 6G, but they also insist it should not force another round of costly network hardware swaps. Vendors push their own 6G visions, while standards bodies and research projects churn out conflicting roadmaps, buzzwords and timelines.

The result is a technology that exists mainly as a branding exercise and a funding magnet, not a clear plan. Some camps pitch 6G as an incremental upgrade to 5G, others as a radical reset. There is no agreement on what problems 6G must actually solve, what spectrum it will use, or when it will arrive. Until the industry settles on a common, concrete target, 6G looks less like the next generation of mobile networks and more like a loosely organized argument.