Co-Located with Telco 2031, 6G Forge takes a deep dive into the difficult and as-yet unclear question of where the commercial benefit of the 6G transition lies. 

There is a good deal of conversation about 6G out there in the wider telecoms ecosystem, but much of it is driven by fairly straightforward messaging to operators:

• You need 6G to manage future capacity demands
• It will save you money in the longer term
• A particular technical element, such as sensing, will revolutionise the industry

… and also driven by the fairly straightforward counter-arguments to these.

We need a different approach which moves away from a focus on the technology and looks more at the market, to start unravelling 

• What benefits 6G can credibly offer;
• to whom; and
• what forms of implementation would complement other strategies, for example in AI, NTN and enterprise services.  

Isn’t it too soon to talk about this? We don’t even have the specifications!

Exactly! We can still affect what the standards are and do, to fit with what service providers and their customers want. Otherwise, the choice is to ask the same questions four years from now when presented with a fait accompli.

What is the point of getting involved?

While we will run the day under Chatham House Rules, the key points of the discussion will be collated, turned into real-world outputs to drive change, and shared with you and key stakeholders globally.

You will have a say in what the next steps are. 

Outcomes will include a report; summary presentation; and video summary.