Spectrum policy led the agenda again this week, with US operators lining up experiments in the 4GHz band, fresh mid-band leasing in the 3.45GHz range and a spectrum transfer that could reshape Nigeria’s market. The road to 6G came into sharper focus as GSMA Intelligence put a number on future connections and 3GPP stalled on how networks will migrate. AI kept pushing deeper into the radio access network, with live-network trials from Optus, Orange and Rakuten, while operators clocked up a run of deployment firsts across roaming, carrier aggregation and private networks. Here is what mattered.
The 4GHz band is fast becoming the focus for the next spectrum cycle. T-Mobile US applied to the FCC for experimental licences to test prototype equipment across 2.7GHz and 4GHz, positioning itself early as regulators prepare the pipeline for future auctions. Verizon is circling the same territory, with both carriers setting up field experiments even though the underlying policy decisions have yet to be settled. The message is that operators want to be ready the moment the rules land.
Mid-band dealmaking continued elsewhere. AT&T agreed to lease 55 licences in the 3.45GHz band from N Squared II, adding capacity across roughly 25 markets in around a dozen US states. In Nigeria, Mafab Communications is reported to be seeking to transfer its 5G spectrum to MTN Nigeria, a move that would see one of the new entrants from the country’s landmark 2021 auction exit the market and consolidate holdings with the largest operator. Regulators will weigh whether that concentration serves competition or undermines it.
Defence and broadcast interests also pressed their cases. An official from the US Department of War underlined the difficulty of clearing large contiguous blocks of spectrum for 6G while protecting national security operations, a reminder that the 400MHz-wide channels next-generation networks want will not come easily. Separately, backers of a low-power television station in Boston asked the FCC to let broadcasters deploy 5G Broadcast on a voluntary basis, keeping the convergence of broadcast and mobile on the regulatory table.
GSMA Intelligence offered the week’s clearest forecast, predicting global 6G connections will reach 2.4 billion by 2035. That is a steady climb from around 50 million at the end of 2030, when the first launches are expected, and it frames 6G as a long build rather than a sudden switch. The figure gives operators and vendors a planning horizon, even as the standards work behind it remains unsettled.
Just how unsettled became clear at 3GPP’s plenary meetings in Madrid, where the group postponed its decision on 5G-to-6G migration after failing to agree on which options to support or how many to allow. Migration path matters because it shapes how much of today’s investment carries forward. The delay leaves operators planning around a moving target and adds weight to the growing view that early 6G may resemble a refined 5G more than a clean break.
AI-RAN is edging out of the lab and into live networks. Optus reported real gains from its work with Ericsson, pointing to measurable improvements in link adaptation, coverage prediction and interference compensation on a commercial network. Orange is preparing to put Nokia’s AI-RAN platform into live testing, weighing claimed radio-efficiency gains against the wider prospect of sharing compute between the network and AI workloads. Rakuten Mobile, meanwhile, argued that its software-defined, cloud-native O-RAN architecture gives it a natural foundation for layering AI intelligence across the network.
In South Korea, Samsung secured roles on separate AI-RAN projects with both KT and SK Telecom, part of the country’s Hyper AI Network push to weave AI directly into radio infrastructure. T-Mobile US took a more operational route, expanding its use of AI to respond to outages and sudden traffic shifts through new AutoPilot capabilities and a nationwide rollout of its Dynamic CX tools. The common thread is that AI in the RAN is shifting from promise to production, even if scaling it across whole networks remains the hard part.
Standalone 5G reached a genuine first as T-Mobile US and Reliance Jio claimed the world’s first 5G SA international roaming connection, enabled through Syniverse’s mediation platform and supporting both data and voice. In the Gulf, du and Nokia announced the first six-carrier aggregation on a commercial 5G-Advanced network, combining 420MHz of bandwidth across FDD and TDD spectrum. Ooredoo Kuwait added its own regional milestone, demonstrating 1024QAM alongside 8×8 MIMO on its live 5G-Advanced network using commercially available devices.
Deployment news spread across regions and use cases. Ericsson switched on a private 5G network at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport using CBRS spectrum, and modernised Vodafone Egypt’s radio access network with its new AI-powered RAN Processor 6672, one of the first markets to take the hardware after its debut in Japan. On the testing front, Signals Research Group carried out what is likely the first independent field trial of massive and multi-user MIMO in FDD spectrum, reporting standout uplink performance. And U Mobile, working with ZTE, trialled a portable solar-powered 5G site in the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah, a nod to the energy and coverage challenges of reaching remote regions.
The collapse of Cambium Networks rippled through the fixed wireless market. Airspan stepped in to acquire Cambium’s fixed wireless product lines, with more than 135 employees moving across, offering some continuity for wireless internet service providers left exposed by the failure. Even so, parts of the installed base and product roadmap remain in limbo, and the episode is a sharp reminder of the risks of vendor dependence.
Private networks kept their momentum. The GSA reported that private mobile network deployments have passed 2,000 in operation worldwide, though the pace has cooled somewhat from its earlier peak. Anterix widened the appeal of private wireless as the new iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo became the first Apple handsets to support dedicated private LTE on its licensed 900MHz spectrum, lowering a long-standing barrier to enterprise adoption. Against that, analysts at Light Reading questioned whether network slicing and operator APIs can really revive the telco business model, a caution worth holding onto amid the enthusiasm.
T-Mobile requests to test 2.7GHz and 4GHz in 6G spectrum pipeline
A clear read on how US operators are positioning for the next auction cycle before the policy is even set.
https://www.lightreading.com/6g/t-mobile-requests-to-test-2.7ghz-and-4ghz-in-6g-spectrum-pipeline
6G talks raise more questions about 5G migration options
Explains why 3GPP’s stalled migration decision matters for the value of today’s 5G investment.
https://www.lightreading.com/6g/6g-talks-raise-more-questions-about-5g-migration
AI-RAN gets real: Optus claims major field gains with Ericsson
A useful gauge of how far AI-RAN has moved from concept to measurable results on live networks.
https://rcrwireless.com/20260924/ai-infrastructure/ai-ran-gets-real-optus-claims-major-field-gains-with-ericsson
Network slicing and APIs are on ever shakier ground
A well-argued counterweight to the hype around slicing and operator APIs as a new revenue engine.
https://www.lightreading.com/5g/network-slicing-and-apis-are-on-ever-shakier-ground
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