China has become the first country to grant frequency usage permits for sixth-generation (6G) technology trials. This key regulatory step, made possible after the 6GHz band was approved by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), will shift 6G research from laboratory simulations to scenario validation, significantly accelerating its commercialization.

Key milestone

The 6GHz mid-band spectrum, dubbed the "golden spectrum" by industry experts, offers continuous large bandwidth, wide coverage, high capacity and reliability.

According to MIIT, the band is highly compatible with existing 5G mid-band ecosystems. This compatibility allows China to leverage mature global industrial foundations, lower networking and construction costs, and ensure a smooth transition from 5G to 6G.

In addition, the newly allocated spectrum resources are expected to help unify research, industry and academic efforts, accelerating the progress of 6G chips, terminals and testing equipment.

6G has entered a critical phase with clear requirements, technical breakthroughs and the start of standards establishment, said Du Ying, deputy director of the wireless and mobile communications institute at the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. Du noted that 6G commercial services are expected to launch around 2030, with large-scale deployment likely by 2035.

China completed its first-phase 6G key technology tests from 2022 to 2025, accumulating over 300 core technologies. The second-phase technical trials — now underway — will focus on integrated technical solutions and prototype system development. With the 6GHz band approved, testing will gradually move into real-world environments such as cities and industrial sites to verify performance and accelerate maturity.

Transformative impact

6G will deeply integrate communication, sensing, computing and AI to enable ubiquitous coverage of space, air and ground, said Shao Chunju, director of the Future Research Lab at China Mobile Research Institute.

In manufacturing, 6G is expected to upgrade the industrial Internet, allowing robots to perform high-precision collaborative work in fully smart factories.

For urban governance, it will support digital twin cities, enabling real-time monitoring and management of transport, energy and environment.

Additionally, 6G's integrated sensing and communication capabilities will provide sub-meter positioning for drones and ensure stable emergency communication during disasters, boosting low-altitude economy and public safety.

Enablling holographic communication, immersive entertainment, and wide-area interconnection of multi-agent intelligent systems are areas where 6G will impact daily public life. "In the future, users could have holographic interactions with distant family," Shao said.

More significantly, 6G is intended to evolve into an intelligent-agent communication network, where robots, smart devices and digital assistants collaborate on tasks like home care or travel planning.

As standards, technologies and applications fall into place, a new era of intelligent connectivity blending the virtual and physical worlds is on our doorstep.