ATIS’ Next G Alliance took next steps toward a North American 6G vision, naming leadership for four working groups alongside the launch of its technical work program this week.
Nokia’s Amitava Ghosh, fellow and head of Radio Interface Group, is chairing the consortium’s National 6G Roadmap Working Group. Vice chairs are AT&T lead solution architect Marc Grant and InterDigital senior director of Research and Innovation for 6G Projects Doug Castor.
The 6G Roadmap group helps coordinate across all the alliance’s other working groups.
“The primary goal of the National 6G Roadmap Working Group is to drive communications technology innovation through developing and maintaining a North American 6G vision, lifecycle roadmap and timeframe,” Ghosh said in a statement. “Nokia is a founding member of the Next G Alliance, and as chair of the National 6G Roadmap WG, I look forward to collaborating with our industry partners on this vital initiative.”
RELATED: AT&T, Ericsson execs to lead 6G strategy for U.S. coalition
Nokia is also involved in the EU’s flagship 6G initiative Hexa-X as project lead coordinating the effort, with Ericsson as technical manager.
HPE Distinguished Technologist Marie-Paule Odini is chairing the Next G Alliance’s Green G Working Group, focused on ways to minimize energy consumption and environmental impact of future wireless technology. Vice chairs are Microsoft’s Micaela Giuhat and VMware’s Colleen Josephson.
Technology and Spectrum working groups were also formed, chaired by Qualcomm’s Eddy (Hwan-Joon) Kwon and Mitre’s Andrew Thiessen, respectively.
RELATED: U.S. taps Apple, Google, Nokia, Qualcomm for 6G boost
Leadership for working groups focused on applications and societal/economic drivers have yet to be named. Those are tasked with identifying the leading vertical applications that will use network infrastructure in a 6G world, and characterizing drivers central to the 6G concept.
“With the launch of the technical work program, the Next G Alliance takes an important step in fulfilling its mission,” said ATIS President and CEO Susan Miller in a statement. “Aligning industry and academia around a holistic 6G vision for the next decade will be central to North American leadership and success domestically and across the global 6G marketplace.”
RELATED: 6G doesn’t mean ditching 5G but ‘evolving’ to next G
The Next G Alliance formed last October and counts 50 members that include major U.S. carriers, tech companies, hyperscalers, infrastructure and device vendors, and others. Apple, Ericsson, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Samsung and Qualcomm are all on the roster, just to name a few.
Ericsson and AT&T executives are leading efforts on overall strategy and direction for the North American coalition, which wants to develop and maintain leadership as technology advances.
5G is still in the early stages but there are initiatives around the globe preparing for the next generation of wireless technology. The U.S. National Science Foundation just last month launched a public-private partnership program for 6G, with nine leading cloud, tech and telecom players.